Bill Gates transferred $850M in Deere shares to Melinda Gates: WSJ
The total value of all shares publicly disclosed to have been transferred to Melinda Gates now exceeds $3 billion, a report said
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Bill Gates transferred more than $850 million in shares of Deere & Co. to his estranged wife Melinda French Gates, according to a report.
That brings the total value of shares transferred to Melinda Gates to more than $3 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, referring to shares that the couple has publicly acknowledged transferring since May 3, when they announced plans to divorce after 27 years together.
The Deer transfer represents 2.25 million shares in the Illinois maker of farm equipment and other devices, representing about 7% of the Microsoft co-founder’s total investment in the company, the Journal report said.
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The transaction was conducted Thursday and reported late Friday by Cascade Investment LLC, the organization that handles Bill Gates’ investments, the report said.
The disclosure was required because Gates and Cascade hold a stake of greater than 10% in Deere, Gates said in a securities filing, according to the Journal.
After the transfer to Melinda Gates, the Bill Gates-Cascade stake in Deere dropped to 9.3%, the news outlet reported.
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Previous transfers to Melinda Gates involved shares of Coca-Cola, AutoNation and a Canadian railroad, totaling nearly $2.4 billion, according to the Journal.
The couple’s divorce proceedings formally got underway last week, with a judge in Washington state approving a motion that more attorneys be added to the case.
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The Gateses, who have three children, were splitting amid reports of Bill Gates’ alleged womanizing and Melinda Gates’ reported displeasure with her husband’s past association with late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The couple both plan to remain involved in their philanthropic organization, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, according to reports.