Bill Gates has announced he is divorcing his wife, Melinda Gates

In a joint statement posted to Bill’s Twitter account, the pair said:

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. 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 to work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”

Bill and Melinda are among the richest people on the planet, and in 2000 they launched the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a philanthropic organisation which strives to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty across the globe.

The couple have three children together, 21-year-old son Rory, and daughters Jennifer, 25, and Phoebe, 18.

Meanwhile, before the couple tied the knot, Bill had listed the pros and cons of marriage on a whiteboard to help himself make the important decision of whether to propose to Melinda.

The information was revealed during an episode of Netflix’s three-part series, ‘Inside Bill’s Brain’, when Melinda said: "His whiteboard had the pros and the cons of getting married.”