Bill and Melinda Gates divorce: How $145 bn can be split between couple

 The couple are also among the lar­gest landowners in the US and have homes inc­luding their 66,000-sqft mansion in Medina, Washin­gton

As a married couple, Bill and Melinda Gates spent decades amassing one of history’s largest fortunes. Now that they’re divorcing, they have to untangle that $145 billion.

Details of the split have already started to emerge.

Cascade Investment, a holding company Bill created with his Microsoft winnings, transferred securities worth more than $1.8 billion to Melinda French Gates, according to US regulatory filings dated May 3. The shift comprised about $1.5 billion of Canadian National Railway Co. shares and more than $300 million of AutoNation stock. Cascade holds securities valued at more than $50 billion, including stakes in Republic Services, Deere & Co. and Ecolab.

How their wealth is ultimately divvied up is set to shake up the uppermost ranks of the world’s richest people and could have billion-dollar implications on what philanthropic causes get attention.

The biggest asset is Cascade Investment, run by money manager Michael Larson. Through Cascade, Gates has interests in real estate, energy and hospitality as well as public companies. Canadian National is the third-biggest public equity holding. Cascade tra­nsferred 14.1 million shares to Melinda, and has 87.3 million shares, which are ow­ned by Bill, the regulatory filing shows.