#2 Bill Gates

Cofounder, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

REAL TIME NET WORTH

$106.9B
as of 3/2/20
$12 M | 0.01%
Reflects change since 5 PM ET of prior trading day
Impact InvestorThe goal of impact investing is to create social or environmental impact, plus financial returns.The goal of impact investing is to create social or environmental impact, plus financial returns.
  • With his wife Melinda, Bill Gates chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charitable foundation.
  • The foundation works to improve global health and to create equal opportunity for people around the globe.
  • Gates has sold or given away much of his stake in Microsoft -- he owns just over 1% of shares -- and invested in a mix of stocks and other assets.
  • He remains a board member of Microsoft, the software firm he founded with Paul Allen (d. 2018) in 1975.
  • In early 2019, Gates responded to the public backlash against billionaires by reiterating his support for a higher estate tax.
  • To date, Gates has donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation.
Stats
Age64
Source of WealthMicrosoft, Self Made
Lifetime Giving$35.8B
Giving as a percentage of net worth25%
ResidenceMedina, Washington
CitizenshipUnited States
Marital StatusMarried
Children3
EducationDrop Out, Harvard University

Did you know

When Gates was a kid, he spent so much time reading that his parents finally forbade him from bringing books to the dinner table.
Gates took a break from classes his senior year in high school to do programming with his friend Paul Allen at a power plant in North Bonneville, Washington.

Net worth over time

$79.2B
Billionaires
March 2015
$76B
Forbes 400
September 2015
$75B
Billionaires
March 2016
$81B
Forbes 400
October 2016
$86B
Billionaires
March 2017
$89B
Forbes 400
October 2017
$90B
Billionaires
March 2018
$97B
Forbes 400
October 2018
$96.5B
Billionaires
March 2019
$106B
Forbes 400
October 2019

Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organization and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.

Bill Gates

More on Forbes

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Nov 19, 2019

Bill Gates Is Both Chief Funder And Fundraiser In Polio Fight

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in partnership with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi convened the “Reaching The Las Mile Forum” in Abu Dhabi today to announce total pledges of $2.6 billion to fight polio.
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Key Connections
Microsoft
Holds stake in Microsoft