Bill Gates reportedly blamed himself for his divorce from Melinda as he “spilled” about their split at the Sun Valley billionaires conference.
The Microsoft co-founder reportedly spoke about he and Melinda’s divorce after 27 years of marriage at the exclusive Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference last week.
One attendee told The New York Post that during an “off the record” Q&A session, Gates “fessed up to messing up” his marriage.
“He basically referred to the fact that it [the divorce] was his fault,” the source said.
“He did seem a bit emotional about it,” the source added. “He might have been on the verge of tears.”
The outlet reported that Gates did not use the word “affair” when discussing the end of his nearly three-decade-long marriage.
Another attendee told the outlet that Gates’ candor was “very moving.”
Gates reportedly arrived at the Sun Valley conference last week and spent Thursday night dining with fellow billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.
On Friday, Gates gave a talk about climate change before reportedly opening up about his divorce.
The Idaho conference, known to some as “summer camp for billionaires,” typically hosts the biggest names in tech and media, and 2021 appeared to be no different.
In addition to Gates, Bezos, and Zuckerberg, Apple’s Tim Cook, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft were all spotted at this year’s event.
It also is known to hatch major deals as powerful titans come together to chat business.
It was reported that the AOL-TIME Warner deal was hatched at a past conference, according to NPR.
Walt Disney’s purchase of CapCities/ABC and Comcast’s deal for NBCUniversal were also reportedly linked to the conference.