Bill Gates could have been richer than Elon Musk; find out why that didn't happen
Bill Gates could have become the world's first trillionaire if he had held on to his original
Microsoft shares
, according to a new analysis by
Forbes
. Together, he and Melinda French Gates might have amassed a combined fortune of around $1.5 trillion, without selling stock or dedicating large portions of their wealth to philanthropy.
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Gates alone could have been worth an estimated $1.2 trillion.
Back in 1986, when Microsoft went public, Gates owned 11.2 million shares, roughly 49 percent of the company, worth about $200 million at the time. Adjusted for stock splits, that holding would now be about 3.2 billion shares, or 43 percent of Microsoft, valued at approximately $1.4 trillion. With another $100 billion from dividends after tax, his hypothetical net worth would have set a new global record.
Instead, Gates chose a different path. He steadily sold off shares and focused on philanthropy through the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation
. Today, he holds just 0.9 percent of Microsoft, worth around $28 billion. Melinda's current Microsoft stake is valued at about $380,000. This decision reshaped their legacy, from tech billionaires to some of the world's most influential philanthropists.
Why Bill Gates donated $60 billion
In 2000, according to Dailymotion, Bill and Melinda established the Gates Foundation with initial funding that has grown over the years.
Together, they contributed $60.2 billion, directing $47.7 billion toward global health and poverty initiatives. That made them the second-largest philanthropists in US history at that time.
Bill's 2010 'Giving Pledge,' co-founded with Warren Buffett, committed him to donate nearly all his wealth to charitable causes. Melinda confirmed that she viewed concentrating wealth as counterproductive, believing in redistributing resources more responsibly, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
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What stopped Bill Gates from becoming a trillionaire
Forbes estimates Bill's current net worth at about $113 billion and Melinda's at $30.4 billion. These figures still placed them among the global elite, though far from the trillion-dollar mark.
By comparison, Elon Musk recently topped out with a net worth near $368 billion, according to Bloomberg. Under the hypothetical scenario, Bill would have far eclipsed that peak, marking a wealth level not seen in human history.
Melinda, with her estimated stake, would have entered the top three richest individuals worldwide.
What stopped Bill Gates from becoming a trillionaire
Why Bill Gates is donating nearly all his wealth by 2045
The central shift began when the Gates Foundation turned into more than just a personal project. It became a formal body focused on health, poverty, education, and equity. The couple poured tens of billions into vaccines, infectious disease prevention, agricultural development, and women's empowerment globally.
In recent years, they have made major commitments. Bill pledged to donate nearly 99 percent of his remaining wealth over the next two decades. Melinda launched Pivotal Philanthropies and directed $12.5 billion toward gender issues.
Bill also confirmed that the Gates Foundation will wind down by 2045, the planned endpoint for most philanthropic ventures.
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