Melinda Gates
These women are some of the richest in the world
Melinda Gates received billions in shares from her husband Bill.
© Patricia Schlein / starmaxinc.com / ImageCollect
Bill Gates and his wife Melinda are getting divorced. Melinda Gates could therefore soon be one of the richest women in the world.
The divorce of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (65) and his wife, philanthropist Melinda Gates (56), is worth billions. On Monday (May 3rd) Gates is supposed to be his still-wife according to the “Wall Street Journal” have already transferred $ 2.4 billion in shares. As reported by the British newspaper “The Independent”, Melinda Gates could become the second richest woman in the world through divorce.
According to court records, she is entitled to $ 73 billion. The couple’s fortune is said to be US $ 146 billion (about 120 billion euros), based on a separation agreement, it is now to be divided between the two.
Currently the richest woman in the world is according to “Forbes” magazine Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers (67), the heiress of the French cosmetics company L’Oréal. Her net worth is estimated at $ 73.6 billion. With the death of her mother Liliane Bettencourt (1922-2017), she became the richest woman in France.
MacKenzie Scott, ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, ranks third among the richest women
With a little gap, Alice Walton (71) follows in second place among the richest women in the world. The billionaire is the heiress of the Walmart corporation. The “Forbes” magazine estimates the American woman’s fortune at 61.8 billion US dollars (about 51 billion euros).
The third richest woman in the world is MacKenzie Scott, 51. She got her fortune in a similar way to Melinda Gates: she was married to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (57) until 2019, and the divorce made her a billionaire billionaire. Her assets are said to be 53 billion US dollars (about 44 billion euros). In February 2021, she announced that she would donate at least half of this to charitable organizations.
A German is also among the top ten
In fourth place with an estimated fortune of 46.4 billion US dollars (about 38 billion euros) is the American Julia Koch (59). The fact that she is a billionaire is thanks to the mixed company Koch Industries. After the death of her husband David H. Koch (1940-2019), she inherited his fortune and has since held a 42 percent stake in the privately owned company.
Casino operator Miriam Adelson (75) is the fifth richest woman in the world. She has a 56 percent stake in the Las Vegas Sands group, which previously belonged to her husband, casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. He died in January 2021 at the age of 87. Miriam Adelson now has an estimated net worth of $ 38.2 billion.
A German also made it into the top ten richest women in the world: Susanne Klatten (59) owns shares in BMW, she is also involved in the chemical group Altana AG, the wind turbine manufacturer Nordex SE and the carbon product manufacturer SGL Carbon. Her fortune is estimated at 27.7 billion US dollars (about 23 billion euros), making it eighth on the “Forbes” list.