Billionaire philanthropists Bill and Melinda French Gates have announced that they are divorcing after 27 years of marriage, saying that they no longer believe 'we can grow together as a couple but will continue to work together at their foundation that has an endowment of about USD 50 billion.

In a joint statement posted on Twitter by both, they said: "After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage." According to a PTI report, they said that over the last 27 years they built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy and 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 this next phase of our lives," the statement said. The duo, two of the richest persons in the world, asked for "space and privacy" for their family "as we begin to navigate this new life. The divorce announcement puts focus on the couple's sprawling

Seattle-based organization, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which had reported total net assets of USD 43.3 billion at the end of 2019. Bill, 65, co-founder of Microsoft, had met Melinda, 56 when she had joined the technology giant as a product manager. After dating for a few years, they got married in January 1994 in Hawaii. The couple has three children aged 18 to 25. The foundation said in a statement that the two would remain co-chairs and trustees and no changes were expected at the organization.