Bill Gates was once warned by two Microsoft officials to stop inappropriate communication between himself and a female employee. This warning was given in 2008, when Gates was still chairman of Microsoft's board of directors.
The Wall Street Journal report said Gates had flirted with a female Microsoft employee via email. Gates also reportedly teased the employee, even though he was still married to Melinda French.
Gates was then asked by two of Microsoft's top brass, Brad Smith, then General Counsel and Lisa Brummel, then Chief People Officer, to stop dealing with female employees.
Gates has not denied that he ever emailed the employee and said he would end the relationship immediately. Smith and Brummel later reported this relationship to several members of Microsoft's board of directors, but they took no further steps because there was no physical interaction between Gates and the female employee.
In an official statement to The Verge, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the WSJ report but did not provide further comment. But to the WSJ, Microsoft spokesman Frank Shaw said the company only became aware of the email exchange in 2008, but that it had happened a year earlier.
The female employee did not file a complaint with the company about the incident. Shaw said the emails were seductive but not sexually suggestive, and he said Gates had talked about asking the employee to meet outside the office.
Contrary to Microsoft's statement, a spokesman for Gates denied the report. "These claims are false, are rumors of recycling from sources with no direct knowledge, and in some cases have a significant conflict of interest," a Gates spokesperson said.
In 2019, several members of Microsoft's board of directors advised Gates to step down from his post while his alleged affair with an employee was investigated. The employee reportedly wrote to the board of directors about his years-long relationship with Gates.
Gates then resigned from his post in 2020 citing a desire to focus on his charitable activities. When he resigned, the investigation had not yet been completed.
In August 2021, Gates officially divorced his wife Melinda French after 27 years of marriage. Currently, the two are still jointly leading the charitable foundation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.