Bill and Melinda Gates: Why a 27-Year Marriage Ended, Read in Their Charts
27 years of marriage, three children, the biggest foundation in the world. Then, on 3 May 2021, a divorce. Scroll: Saturn was in the same house for the wedding and for the end.
Her birth chart ID
Bill Gates
28 October 195510:00 pmSeattle
- ☉︎Sun Scorpio
- ACRising Cancer
- ☽︎Moon Aries
Her birth chart ID
Melinda French Gates
15 August 1964Dallas, Texas
- ☉︎Sun Leo
Bill gave his birth time himself. Melinda's is not public, so her chart shows signs only. Her Moon is Scorpio or Sagittarius, depending on the hour.
Their story in 6 dates
Scroll down, the years slide by.
1987
They meet at Microsoft, the year she joins as a product manager.
1 January 1994
They marry on Lanai, in Hawaii.
1996, 1999, 2002
Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe are born.
3 May 2021
They announce their divorce. Her petition is filed the same day in Seattle.
2 August 2021
The divorce is final.
2024
She leaves the foundation they built together.
His real chart
His house of marriage.
Step 1
Cancer rising, at 27°. Across the wheel, his 7th house of marriage: Capricorn. It is empty.
Capricorn is ruled by Saturn. His Saturn sits at 22° Scorpio, in his 5th house, right next to Venus at 20°. Love taken seriously.
Their two charts, one on the other
What tied them.
Step 1
Her Venus, at 8° Cancer, squares his Moon at 8° Aries: 0.3° apart. Real affection, with different needs.
Her Mars, at 11° Cancer, squares his Mars at 10° Libra: 0.5° apart. Two strong wills.
Her Venus and Mars fall in Cancer, his rising sign. And her Sun, at 23° Leo, squares his Saturn and Venus in Scorpio.
Her chart (birth time unknown, so signs only)
Her chart: Venus and Mars in Cancer.
Step 1
Born on 15 August 1964 in Dallas: Sun at 23° Leo. Her birth time is not public, so the wheel shows signs, not houses. The Moon is left out (Scorpio or Sagittarius).
Venus at 8° and Mars at 11°, side by side in Cancer: love and action that want a home, a family, a safe place.
The sky around his chart
Married and divorced with Saturn in the same house.
Step 1
Wedding day: Saturn at 27° Aquarius, in his 8th house of shared money. Uranus and Neptune stand in his 7th house of marriage.
27 years later, the announcement: Saturn is back in Aquarius, back in the house of shared money.
The sky around his chart
2018 to 2020: Saturn crosses his house of marriage.
Step 1
March 2018: Saturn at 8° Capricorn squares his Moon and faces Melinda's Venus. It hits the exact contact that tied them.
February, August and November 2020: Saturn crosses his Descendant at 27° Capricorn, the door of his house of marriage.
The sky around his chart
May 2021: Pluto stands still on the door of his marriage.
Step 1
29 April 2021: Pluto stands still at 26°49' Capricorn, 0.2° from his Descendant. Four days later, they announce the divorce.
Same day: Jupiter at 29° Aquarius faces his Jupiter and Pluto in Leo, in his 2nd house of money. The fortune has to be divided.
Spring 2021
4 days
On 29 April 2021, Pluto, the planet of endings, stands still within 1° of his Descendant, the door of his house of marriage. Four days later, the divorce is announced.
Three layers, one spring
2017 to 2023: watch the clocks meet.
Saturn
In Capricorn, his 7th house: on their contact in 2018, on his Descendant in 2020
Saturn
Back in Aquarius, his 8th house of shared money, as on the wedding day
Pluto
Within 1° of his Descendant; stands still on 29 April 2021
3 May 2021 Where all three meet: spring 2021. Pluto stands still on his Descendant on 29 April, with Saturn back in the house of shared money. The divorce is announced on 3 May and final on 2 August 2021.
A strong pull is not the same thing as a strong bond.
Your turn: read your own couple
- 1
Put your chart next to your partner's. Is one Sun close to the other's Moon or Venus?
- 2
Look at your 7th house, the house of partners, and where its ruler sits.
- 3
Find your profection year: your age divided by 12, keep the remainder, add 1. The 5th and 7th house years often bring the big love moments.
Your 2027 agenda shows your profection year and the days when Saturn and the slow planets touch your chart, month by month.
Your 2027, from your birth chart
Want this for your own year?
Your personalized 2027 agenda, day by day, from your birth chart: your strong days, the planets that cross your chart, every Moon already on the right day. A PDF to print, a lovely Christmas gift too.
Free class
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Questions people ask
When did Bill and Melinda Gates marry and divorce?
They met at Microsoft in 1987 and married on 1 January 1994 on Lanai, Hawaii. They announced their divorce on 3 May 2021, and the divorce was final on 2 August 2021, after 27 years of marriage.
Why did Bill and Melinda Gates divorce, in astrology?
Their bond is strong but tense: his Moon squares her Venus and his Mars squares her Mars. They married with Saturn in Aquarius, his house of shared money, and announced the divorce with Saturn back in Aquarius. Saturn crossed his 7th house of marriage from 2018 to 2020, and Pluto stood still on his Descendant four days before the announcement.
What is Bill Gates's rising sign?
Cancer, at 27°, with the birth time he gave himself: 10:00 pm on 28 October 1955 in Seattle. A biography says shortly after 9 pm, which still gives Cancer rising. His 7th house of marriage is therefore Capricorn, ruled by Saturn.
What is Melinda French Gates's birth chart?
She was born on 15 August 1964 in Dallas, Texas. Her birth time is not public, so only the signs are known: Sun in Leo, Venus and Mars in Cancer, Saturn in Pisces. Her Moon is in Scorpio or Sagittarius, depending on the hour.
Related AstroBites
Keep reading: Love
Photos, Wikimedia Commons: Bill Gates (Bogdan Hoyaux / European Union, 2025, CC BY 4.0); Melinda French Gates (Chris Kleponis / European Union, 2024, CC BY 4.0); Jennifer Aniston (Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0); Brad Pitt (Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0); Johnny Depp (Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 3.0); Amber Heard (Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0); Angelina Jolie (Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0); Vanessa Paradis (Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0)