In 2019, Microsoft board started probe against Bill Gates for previous relationship with employee

By the time Melinda French Gates decided to end her 27-year marriage, her husband was known globally as a software pioneer, a billionaire and a leading philanthropist.

But in some circles, Bill Gates had also developed a reputation for questionable conduct in work-related settings. That is attracting new scrutiny amid the breakup of one of the world’s richest, most powerful couples.

In 2018, French Gates was not satisfied with her husband’s handling of a previously undisclosed sexual harassment claim against his longtime money manager, according to two people familiar with the matter. After Gates moved to settle the matter confidentially, French Gates insisted on an outside investigation. The money manager, Michael Larson, remains in his job.