Washington (AFP)

Extramarital affairs and accusations of inappropriate behavior, former Microsoft boss and philanthropist Bill Gates sees his image tarnished by revelations following his divorce.

When he announces the end of his marriage on May 3 after 27 years together with Melinda, Bill Gates is an IT legend and a leading philanthropist.

In twenty years, the Foundation he created with his wife has grown to become the most powerful private charity in the world, having funded various projects and initiatives totaling $ 53.8 billion.

At 65, Bill Gates, looking reserved behind his large glasses, then appears as a respectable man.

But for the past two weeks, tongues have been loosened and the revelations have portrayed a businessman with gray areas.

Sunday, the business daily Wall Street Journal revealed that the final departure of Bill Gates from the Microsoft group, in March 2020, would in fact be linked to a relationship deemed "inappropriate" with an employee in the early 2000s.

In an official version, Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft in 1975, left the group's board of directors in 2020, to devote himself fully to its foundation.

He was no longer managing director since 2000.

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to AFP that the group was seized at the end of 2019 that "Bill Gates sought to establish an intimate relationship with an employee of the company in 2000", an engineer.

"A committee of the board of directors examined the problem, assisted by an external law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation," he added.

The engineer had affirmed, in a letter, to have maintained a relation of a sexual nature with Bill Gates "for years", details the Wall Street Journal, specifying that the abandonment of the functions of administrator and the final departure of the group had had take place before the end of this investigation.

Another spokesperson, however, maintained with the WSJ that Bill Gates had left Microsoft to be able to invest "full time" in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Wall Street Journal also claims that the members of the board of directors had also inquired about the links between Bill Gates and the financier Jeffrey Epstein, who had been charged with sexual abuse of dozens of minors in his luxurious residences before d '' being found hanged in his Manhattan cell in August 2019.

- "Questionable behavior" -

The defense of Bill Gates assured that it was then about relations within the framework of his philanthropic affairs which he had "regretted", underlines the daily newspaper.

Beyond this extra-marital affair and the evenings spent with Mr. Epstein, the New York Times published a lengthy article on Monday based on testimonies from people on condition of anonymity who suggested that "long before the divorce, Bill Gates was known for his questionable behavior ".

The American daily affirms in particular that Bill Gates helped cover up a case of sexual harassment of which his portfolio manager Michael Larson would have been guilty.

According to two people informed of this file, Melinda Gates would have expressed her disagreement in 2018 on the way in which this file had been managed by her husband, who had allowed Mr. Larson to remain in office through a financial transaction with the victim. presumed.

The New York Times also claims that "Mr. Gates occasionally sued women in the office."

“In 2006, for example, he attended a presentation by a Microsoft employee. Mr. Gates, who was then president of the company, left the meeting and immediately emailed the woman. to invite him to dinner, according to two people close to the exchange, "says the NYT.

According to six current and former Microsoft employees, the foundation and the company that manages the Gates' fortunes said these incidents, and others more recently, "have at times created an uncomfortable work environment."

The NYT nevertheless points out that "while they disapproved of Mr. Gates' behavior, some employees did not see him as a predator."

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