Bill & Melinda Gates — $76 Billion Estate Split

After 27 years of marriage, Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce in 2021, splitting a $76 billion estate — roughly double the settlement amount of the #1 item, though the exact terms remain private. Bill transferred over $6 billion in stocks to Melinda on the day of the announcement, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with a $67 billion endowment, continued jointly until Melinda resigned in 2024, receiving $12.5 billion for her own philanthropy. Reports cite Bill's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and a past affair with a Microsoft employee as catalysts. The world's most powerful philanthropic partnership dissolved over trust, not money, marking a 27-year union's end.