Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Long journey Bill Gates as one of two richest man in America has ended.
For the first time since 1991, Gates is no longer the first or second richest person in The Forbes 400. Although Gates’ wealth has increased by US$23 billion, Gates is now in fourth place overtaking Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
According to Forbes, the wealth of Bezos, Musk and Zuckerberg rose due to a surge in the shares of their respective companies. However, Microsoft’s stock wasn’t the only reason Gates dropped from second place last year.
Gates’ divorce with Melinda made Gates divide his shares of US $ 5.7 billion. If his marriage and fortune remained intact, Gates would be richer than Zuckerberg and could occupy third place,
Nearly a quarter of Gates’ wealth comes from his 1.3 stake in Microsoft. The wealth is equivalent to US $ 31 billion as of September 3, 2021.
The remainder of Gates’ wealth comes from his investment firm, Cascade Investment LLC, along with other assets, such as his $143 million dollar estate in Medina, Washington.
Through Cascade, Gates has a controlling stake in Four Seasons Hotels, 14 percent of auto dealer AutoNation, shares of waste management company Republic Services, tractor maker Deere & Co., Canadian National Railway and more.
Gates’ wealth looks very different from when he first appeared on The Forbes 400 in 1986, the year Microsoft went public. Gates owned 45 percent of Microsoft at the time, and his fortune was $315 million.
The following year, Microsoft’s soaring stock price made Gates the world’s youngest billionaire, worth $1.25 billion at the age of 31.
Not only that, Microsoft exceeded revenues of US $ 1 billion for the first time in 1990. The Gates company became the largest supplier of computer software ever at that time.
In 1991 Gates jumped to second place on The Forbes 400 from sixteenth the previous year. At that time, Gates’ net worth was $4.8 billion.
The following year, in 1992, he became the richest man in America with a fortune of US$6.3 billion. After Gates stepped down as CEO in 2000, his net worth fell for the first time. Even though Gates is still number one on The Forbes 400.
Microsoft’s stock price stumbled defending itself against antitrust charges filed by the US government. Gates also transferred $20 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation when it was founded in 2000, further shrinking his net worth.
Although he continues to make significant donations to his foundation, which is now the world’s largest private philanthropic organization, Gates remained the richest person in the US until 2017.
From 1994 to 2020, Bill and Melinda Gates donated $36.8 billion to the Gates Foundation, most of it in Microsoft stock giveaways.
Gates dropped to number two in 2018, when Bezos overtook him for the first time. In late 2020, Musk flew past Gates, thanks to Tesla’s surprise stock market rally.
In August, Gates slipped under Zuckerberg for the first time due to most of his share transfer to Melinda.
(age/bir)
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