Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), was the richest man in the world from 1995 to 2017 (except for 2008). He was in that position again from 2010 to 2013. He has dropped to the No.8 spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires list. However, his net worth is still $165 billion which has risen over $6 billion this year.
Gates was CEO of Microsoft from 1975 to 2000. He left then, primarily to pursue his philanthropic interests. He and his ex-wife Melinda Gates–started their foundation, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. As of 2023, the foundation had given away $78 billion, primarily to environmental causes and gender inequality.
Unlike many of the richest people in the world, Gates’ wealth is spread across a wide number of investments. His 1.3% ownership of Microsoft is worth about $60 billion.
Gates has followed the example of his close friend Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. (NYSE: BRK.B) Gates’ diversification runs across a large number of public companies, including Buffet’s. He also owns pieces of Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and FedEx (NYSE: FDX).
Gates also has tens of billions of dollars in Cascade Investment which holds his stake in private companies. These range from Ritz Carlton to nuclear energy start-up TerraPower.
Gates won’t top any billionaire lists again. Several people are too far ahead of him. That included Elon Musk whose net worth is nearly $450 billion.
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