Thursday 6 May 2021: Bill Gates reportedly gave his estranged wife nearly $2 billion in stocks the same day she filed for divorce to end their marriage of 27 years.

On Monday, May 3, the couple announced that they are ending their marriage after 27 years, saying they “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple”.

The Billionaire couple said that the decision came after a "great deal of thought and work as they no longer believe they can grow together as a couple in this "next phase" of their lives.

According to docs obtained by TMZ, the 65-year-old Microsoft tycoon's investment firm Cascade Investment LLC transferred more than 14 million shares of Canadian National Railway Co. and more than 2.9 million shares of AutoNation Inc. to his estranged wife, the same day she filed for divorce.

Based on Wednesday's stock prices, the shares are worth $1.8 billion.

 The Microsoft co-founder turned philanthropist and his wife have built up a combined $124bn (£89bn) fortune, making them among the five richest couples in the world.

Courtroom paperwork revealed that Melinda Gates filed for divorce earlier this week, citing that her marriage to Bill was “irretrievably broken.”

The paperwork additionally requested the decision to rule that their marriage formally ended “as of the date in the separation contract.”

Surprisingly, it was additionally revealed that the billionaire couple doesn’t have a prenup in place.