Bill Gates, the co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft, has announced on Twitter moments ago that he and his wife of 27 years, philanthropist and businesswoman Melinda Gates, have made a decision to end their marriage “after a great deal of thought and a lot of work” on their relationship.

In a combined statement, they added: “Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”

The Gates’ chair the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest private charitable foundation. In mid-March 2020, Gates stepped down as a board member of Microsoft, the software firm he founded with Paul Allen (d. 2018) in 1975.

Among the world’s richest people, Bill Gates is ranked number 4 on Forbes world billionaires list with a real time net worth of $130.5 billion.