It seems that American billionaire Bill Gates is in trouble. The Wall Street Journal has revealed that the founder of Microsoft received warnings from company executives about inappropriate email correspondence with female employees. In a report published yesterday, the newspaper cited a message from 2019 sent by an engineer who worked for Microsoft, claiming she had a relationship with Gates before he stepped down from the company's board, noting that this was not an isolated incident. "He was laying the groundwork for a relationship with her."
According to the Wall Street Journal, "Microsoft executives discovered, over a decade ago, emails between Gates and a mid-level employee at the company." Sources familiar with the matter indicated that the incident occurred while Gates was still an employee at Microsoft and chairman of the board. They added that in his correspondence with the employee, "he was flirting and paving the way for a relationship" with her. He did not deny this.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that key company executives, then-General Counsel Brad Smith and HR head Lisa Brummel, met with Gates and informed him that his behavior was "inappropriate" and that he needed to stop. Sources noted that Gates did not deny exchanging messages and told the executives that it "wasn't a good idea," confirming that he would cease the correspondence. "It was not sexual in the explicit sense."
For his part, Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw clarified that in 2008, shortly before Gates retired as a full-time employee, the company became aware of the emails sent in 2007. Shaw stated that Gates suggested meeting the employee outside of work in the messages, noting that "despite the flirting, the correspondence was not sexual in the explicit sense but was considered inappropriate." He added that the employee did not file a complaint about the previously unreported incident. He also pointed out that the romantic relationship with the engineer began around 2002, although Microsoft discovered it in 2019.
On the other hand, Gates' spokesperson, Bridget Arnold, claimed in a written statement to the newspaper that "these allegations are false, and rumors are being circulated from sources that do not have direct knowledge, and in some cases have significant conflicts of interest."
It is worth mentioning that Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, served as CEO of Microsoft until 2000. He remained a full-time employee until 2008 and was chairman of the board until 2014. He also sat on the Microsoft board for over four decades until he stepped down in March 2020.
In 2021, Gates and his wife Melinda French filed for divorce after 27 years of marriage. The divorce proceedings concluded last August, while they continue to lead the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest charitable organizations in the world.
Additionally, the Wall Street Journal reported in a published article in May that a committee from the company's board hired a law firm to investigate a memo sent by an engineer at Microsoft in 2019, claiming her involvement in a relationship with Gates. The newspaper confirmed that the engineer is not the same employee from whom directors warned Gates against communicating, according to informed sources.
