Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction), 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 number eight spot on the Bloomberg Billionaires list. However, his net worth is still $165 billion, after rising by over $6 billion this year.
Gates was chief executive officer of Microsoft from 1975 to 2000. He left primarily to pursue his philanthropic interests. He and his ex-wife 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’s 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 Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B). Gates’s diversification runs across a large number of public companies, including Buffett’s. He also owns pieces of Walmart and FedEx.
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 startup TerraPower.
Gates will not top any billionaire lists again. Several people are too far ahead of him. That includes Elon Musk, whose net worth is nearly $450 billion.
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