BIG Thinkers - Bill Gates - S2EPI - 138

Bill GatesCochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation$117.9B$983M (0.84%)Real Time Net Worthas of 6/27/23#5 in the world today About Bill Gates Bill Gates turned his fortune from software firm Microsoft into diversified holdings including investments in zero-carbon energy. In May 2021, Bill and Melinda Gates each announced on Twitter they were ending their marriage after 27 years. They still co-chair the charitable Gates Foundation. Gates, who cofounded Microsoft with Paul Allen (d. 2018) in 1975, transferred at least $6 billion worth of shares in public companies to Melinda as part of the divorce settlement. As of March 2020, when Gates stepped down from the Microsoft board, he owned about 1.3% of the software and computing company's shares. He has invested in dozens of companies including Republic Services and Deere & Co., and is one of the largest owners of farmland in the U.S. To date, Gates has donated more than $59 billion to the Gates Foundation, including a $20 billion gift announced in July 2022. Most of his early donations were gifts of Microsoft stock.