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Named the world's richest person by Forbes for a record 18 years
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Forbes magazine named Gates the wealthiest person in the world for 18 of the 24 years between 1995 and 2018 — more times than any other individual in the modern era of the Forbes Billionaires List. His wealth peaked at approximately $136 billion in 2019 before decades of philanthropy reduced his net worth significantly. Gates has said he intends to give away virtually all his wealth and eventually drop off the billionaires list entirely.
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Published 'The Road Ahead' — an 18-week #1 bestseller on the digital future
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Wrote 'The Internet Tidal Wave' — pivoted Microsoft to the web
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Related Accomplishments
2026
Gates Foundation Trust Sells Off the Last of Its Microsoft Stock
In the first quarter of 2026, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust sold its remaining Microsoft shares, fully exiting a position in the very company that created Gates's fortune — capping a long, deliberate diversification away from the stock. The endowment that funds Gates's philanthropy, managed separately from its grant-making through Cascade, is now anchored instead by Berkshire Hathaway, Waste Management, railroads, and heavy-equipment makers. The sale underscored how thoroughly Gates's giving had decoupled from Microsoft's day-to-day fortunes.
2026
Gates's Charitable Endowment Is Now Led by Berkshire, Not Microsoft
By 2026, the publicly disclosed stock portfolio of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust — the endowment that funds Gates's philanthropy — was led not by Microsoft but by Berkshire Hathaway, Waste Management, Canadian National Railway, Caterpillar, and Deere. Decades of diversification, plus Warren Buffett's stock gifts, left it concentrated in railroads, waste, heavy equipment, and Buffett's conglomerate, while Microsoft — the source of the original fortune — had largely been sold down. The unglamorous, value-oriented mix reflects the long stewardship of Gates's money manager, Michael Larson, through Cascade Investment.
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