The net worth of Bill Gates, co-founder and long-time CEO of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), has increased by $9 billion this year to $168 billion. That makes him the eighth wealthiest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
He will not top any billionaire lists again. Several people are too far ahead of him, including Elon Musk. His net worth is nearly $450 billion, and he has topped the billionaire list for several months. Gates was the richest man in the world from 1995 to 2017 (except for 2008).
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 many investments. His 1.3% ownership of Microsoft is worth about $60 billion.
He has followed the example of his close friend Warren Buffett, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Gates’s diversification runs across many public companies, including Buffett’s. He also owns stock in Walmart and FedEx.
Gates also has tens of billions of dollars in Cascade Investment, which holds his stake in private companies, ranging from Ritz Carlton to nuclear energy startup TerraPower.
He and his wife, Melinda French Gates, divorced in 2021. It is rumored that Melinda received $76 billion.
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