How Much Money Did Bill Gates Make Last Year

#4 Bill Gates

Cofounder, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Photo by AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

REAL TIME NET WORTH

$138.8B

as of 11/15/21

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Bill Gates turned his fortune from software firm Microsoft into a diversified fortune; his focus has shifted to zero-carbon energy investing and philanthropy.
On May 3, 2021, Bill and Melinda each announced on Twitter they were ending their marriage after 27 years. They will still co-chair the foundation.
Gates, who cofounded Microsoft with Paul Allen (d. 2018) in 1975, has transferred at least $5.7 billion worth of shares in public companies to Melinda.
As of March 2020, when Gates stepped down from the Microsoft board, he owned about 1% of the software and computing company's shares.
He has invested in dozens of companies including Canadian National Railway and AutoNation, and is one of the largest owners of farmland in the U.S.
To date, Gates has donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation.

Stats

Age 66

Source of Wealth Microsoft, Self Made

Residence Medina, Washington

Citizenship United States

Marital Status Divorced

Children 3

Education Drop Out, Harvard University

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.

$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

$98B

Billionaires
April 2020

$111B

Forbes 400
September 2020

$124B

Billionaires
April 2021

$134B

Forbes 400
October 2021

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