Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Why Bill Gates' net worth is so high 20 years since stepping down as Microsoft CEO

Why Bill Gates' net worth is so high 20 years since stepping down as Microsoft CEO

On the rich list, he is second only to Jeff Bezos. So, after distilling a Microsoft stake and donating billions to charity, it begs the question: how on earth is Gates maintaining that vast fortune?
Twenty years ago today, Bill Gates announced that he was stepping down as the CEO of Microsoft, which he founded with Paul Allen in 1975 and helped build into one of the top tech companies in the world. Now, he has a net worth of over $100 billion.

In 2017, it emerged Gates was donating 64 million Microsoft shares, worth about $4.6 billion, which reduced his stake to just over 1 percent. Since its launch, the 64-year-old has poured money into the philanthropic charity he runs with his wife, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which helps to eradicate disease and improve healthcare in developing nations.

On the rich list, he is second only to Amazon's Jeff Bezos. So, after distilling his Microsoft stake and donating billions to charity, it begs the question: how on earth is Gates maintaining that vast fortune?

To start, it helps that Microsoft has become a thriving company, with a share price that has quadrupled under the leadership of current CEO Satya Nadella, according to metrics from analysts at Statista.

And Gates' remaining 1 percent stake is still valued at a casual $7 billion, Business Insider reported.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation holds over $40 billion in assets, while Gates' has an entity named Cascade Investment to manage his personal wealth, as reported by the Financial Times (FT) newspaper. Through Cascade, Gates reportedly owns 47 percent of the Four Seasons hotel chain and has a stake in Berkshire Hathaway group, which is owned by Warren Buffett.

Data compiled by Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which currently lists Gates' fortune at $114 billion, describes his wealth as "self-made" and shows it on a steadily rising trajectory. The analysis says that Gates' net worth is currently the equivalent to 0.634% of U.S. GDP.

"Gates co-founded Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, and owns about 1 percent of the Redmond, Washington-based company," it states. "The rest of his fortune is managed through Cascade Investment, which controls stakes in dozens of publicly traded companies including Canadian National Railway, Deere and Ecolab." Forbes lists net worth as $109.1 billion.

Bill Gates property and real estate assets are believed to be worth hundreds of millions. His home, nicknamed Xanadu 2.0, a reference to Orson Welles movie Citizen Kane, is reportedly valued at more than $120 million alone and reports suggest he purchased a private jet worth about $40 million.

Back in 1994, Gates purchased Leonardo da Vinci's "Codex Leicester" book for $30.8 million. It is believed Gates' owned an island in Belize worth about $25 million, CNBC reported.

Within the last year, Gates added 16 percent to his net worth despite still donating large chunks to charity, telling Bloomberg in September about 60 percent (roughly $60 billion) was equity. "We're not, you know, in some defensive posture where we're mostly in cash, or anything like that," he stated. "The strategy that's been used on the investments is to be over 60% in equities."

Net worth is often difficult to pinpoint with total certainty, and will constantly be in a state of flux thanks to changing economic conditions, taxation and stock pricing. Last November, Gates briefly overtook Bezos to become the world's richest man. But it didn't last too long.

That flux is something Gates doesn't appear to fear. Indeed, just last month he pledged support for a U.S. tax system in which the rich pay more, describing the current system as "unfair."

"The wealth gap is growing," he said in a December 30 post. "The distance between top and bottom incomes in the United States is much greater than it was 50 years ago.

"A few people end up with a great deal—I've been disproportionately rewarded for the work I've done—while many others who work just as hard struggle to get by," he added. " That's why I'm for a tax system in which, if you have more money, you pay a higher percentage in taxes. And I think the rich should pay more than they currently do, and that includes Melinda and me."

He previously touched on the subject in a Reddit Q&A last February, writing: "If people want the government to do more it needs to be funded and I see us needing to improve our education and health services. Yes I have paid $10B but I should have had to pay more on my capital gains."

The following chart, provided by Statista, shows the world's richest people in 2019.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
×