Bill Gates Left Microsoft Board Before Conclusion of Probe Into Affair With Employee

Bill Gates Left Microsoft Board Before Conclusion of Probe Into Affair With Employee
Bill Gates, co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation speaks onstage at 2019 New York Times Dealbook in New York City, on Nov. 6, 2019. Mike Cohen/Getty Images for The New York Times
Updated:

Microsoft board members determined in 2020 that Bill Gates had to step down from the company’s board while they were investigating an alleged prior relationship the billionaire had with a female Microsoft employee that was deemed inappropriate.

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the subject, that the board members hired a law firm in 2019 to investigate the relationship after an engineer at the company claimed that she'd had a sexual relationship over several years with Gates.