Bill Gates’s Net Worth: Real Estate & Divorce
Bill Gates has a net worth of US$144 billion as of May 2021, making him the fourth richest person on the planet.
William Henry Gates II, known as Bill Gates, was born and raised in Seattle, Washington.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, he co-founded Microsoft with childhood friend Paul Allen in 1975. It grew to become the world’s largest tech provider for personal computers.
As Steve Ballmer took over as CEO in January 2000, Gates stepped down as chairman and CEO but continued to lead the company as its chief software architect.
His business practices were deemed anti-competitive in the late 1990s, and several legal rulings supported that conclusion.
In June 2008, Gates switched from a full-time job at Microsoft to a part-time job at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He and his wife, Melinda Gates, founded the foundation in 2000.
In February 2014, Gates resigned as the chairman of Microsoft’s board and took on a new position as a technology advisor to assist newly named CEO Satya Nadella.
Gates stepped down from Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway boards in March 2020 to concentrate on his philanthropic activities, which include climate change, environmental health and sustainability, and education.
Bill Gates has been on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest individuals since 1987. Except for 2010 and 2013, he was the richest person globally from 1995 to 2017.
In October 2017, he was exceeded by Jeff Bezos, the founder, and CEO of Amazon, who had an approximate net worth of US$90.6 billion at the time, relative to Gates’ US$89.9 billion.
Bill Gates: Quick Facts
| Full Name | William Henry Gates III |
| Net Worth | U.S. $ 144 Million |
| Birth Date | October 28, 1955 |
| Birth Place | Seattle, Washington, United States |
| Nick Name | Tery |
| Religion | Catholicism (Christian) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Lakeside School (1967–1973), Harvard College (1973–1975) |
| Horoscope | Scorpio |
| Father’s Name | William H. Gates, Sr |
| Mother’s Name | Mary Maxwell Gates |
| Siblings | Libby Gates MacPhee, Kristi Gates |
| Age | 69 years old |
| Height | 5′ 10” (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 135 lbs (61.37 kg) |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
| Marital Status | Married (About to Divorce) |
| Spouse | Melinda Gates |
| Children | Jennifer Katharine Gates, Rory John Gates, Phoebe Adele Gates |
| Profession | Entrepreneur, Programmer, Investor, Businessperson, Software Architect |
| Awards | Medal for National Technology and Innovation (1992), Triumph of the Nerds (1996), Satellite Special Achievement Award (1997), Nerds 2.0.1 (1998), Silver Buffalo Award (2010), Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award (2013), Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016), Padma Bhushan (2015) |
| Social Media | Facebook, Instagram, Twitter |
| Last Update | December, 2024 |
Bill Gates Net Worth Details
Bill Gates made the majority of his fortune as Microsoft’s CEO, chairman, and chief software architect (MSFT).
Since the company’s IPO in 1986, he has sold at least $40 billion in Microsoft shares and earned over $12 billion in dividends.
Although Gates stepped down as chairman in 2014, he still holds 1.34 percent of the corporation he co-founded.
He put the capital into Cascade Acquisition, a holding firm that has grown to include investments in businesses like Canadian National Railway and AutoNation.
Even though Cascade is not a public entity, it must report its investment activities to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The firm’s portfolio is well-balanced. Cascade formerly owned 9.8% of Strategic Hotels and Resorts, which was later sold to Blackstone Group, Anbang Insurance Group, and Mirae Asset Management; the company now owns Four Seasons hotels in Mexico, Atlanta, and Houston.
Some of Cascades other investments are:
| Company | Shares held | Value (January 15, 2021) |
| AutoNation | 18,431,162 | 162 $74.01 per share |
| Berkshire Hathaway | 6,075,000 | $351,462.00 per share |
| Canadian National Railway | 118,527,644 | $111.68 per share |
| Coca-Cola | 88,081,700 | $48.69 per share |
| Deere & Co | 31,423,573 | $294.35 per share |
Gates owns a stake in Branded Entertainment Network, a business that specializes in brand integration and advertising.
Gate founded and chairs TerraPower, a firm that designs nuclear reactors. He supports ResearchGate, a social networking site for academics and scientists.
Melinda and Gates Foundation supports renewable energy, education, healthcare, and poverty alleviation programs.
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Bill Gates Net Worth: Real Estate
Bill Gates has a sizable stock fund, but he still spends his wealth on real estate, including mansion estate and a private island.
Xanadu 2.0
Xanadu 2.0, the Gates mansion, is a stately pleasure-dome indeed.
The vast 66,000-square-foot complex is located on Lake Washington in the Seattle area, in the same prosperous neighborhood as Jeff Bezos’ house.
It’s worth more than $130 million, according to estimates.
There are the standard luxuries you’d hope to see in such a residence:
According to a 1995 New York Times post, a 20-car garage is built into the hillside.
In addition to the 60-foot indoor/outdoor pool, there is a trampoline room, a 2,500-square-foot fitness center, a movie theater in the Art Deco style. A touchpad operates the lighting, audio, and temperature controls.
According to the New York Times, the house was designed by architects James Cutler and Peter Bohlin. AD100 artist Thierry Despont designed the interiors after Melinda and Bill married in 1994.
Del Mar, California, Beach House
The pair paid $43 million for an oceanfront house in San Diego in April 2020.
The property includes a six-bedroom, two guesthouses, a garden, a spa, a hot tub, and a tennis court, all designed by Ken Ronchetti in 1999.
It has a far more contemporary look than their Washington home, with lots of glass, brick, light trees, and ocean views.
Indian Wells, California, Home
A desert getaway with six bedrooms and nine bathrooms cost $12.5 million in 1999. It is 13,000 square feet and is bordered by a golf course.
Rancho Santa Fe, California, Equestrian Ranch
They invested $18 million on a 228-acre horse ranch in San Diego in 2014. (The seller was Jenny Craig, a weight-loss guru.)
Stables, a veterinarian’s clinic, a racetrack, and a guesthouse are all part of the farm, including a racetrack.
Bill and Melinda bought another horse farm in Westchester County, New York, in 2018.
Wellington, Florida, Horse Farm
Jennifer owns Evergate stables in Wellington, Florida, in addition to her farm in New York. It’s unclear if those were also given to her as a gift.
Bill Gates: Favorite Pastimes
Gates admits to having some “old-fashioned” interests, including being a “professional bridge player” on Reddit.
Take a peek at his favorite pastimes:
Reading (Books)
Bill Gates is an avid reader who enjoys books of all genres.
Gates believes that reading helps people grow smarter. Gates read around 50 books a year on average. He even goes so far as to take a week-long trip to an isolated island simply to read.
Professor Vaclav Smil is one of Gates’ favorite authors who write about long-history topics like energy and innovation.
Beyond reading, Gates is an author who enjoys sharing his knowledge with others. His books include several well-known titles.
Among his famous works are;
- Hit Refresh: The Quest to Rediscover Microsoft’s Soul and Imagine a Better Future for Everyone
- Blitzscaling: The Lightning-Fast Path to Building Massively Valuable Companies
- Business @ the Speed of Thought: Succeeding in the Digital Economy
- The Road Ahead
- Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age
- Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime
- How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
On Gates’s notes, you can find his recommended books, authorships, and favorite reading.
Art Collectables
Bill is passionate about collecting the most valuable works of art. It makes no difference if he needs to pay millions of dollars for it.
Some of his rare collection includes:
Codex Leicester (Book)
Bill Gates purchased this book at an auction in 1994 for a record price of $30.8 million. The book was the most expensive book ever sold.
It is one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most well-known films. The book is a compilation of his many scientific discoveries and writings throughout his life.
Lost on the Grand Banks (Painting)
Bill Gates purchased Lost on the Grand Banks, an oil painting. It cost him $36 million in 1998, making it the most expensive American painting in history.
Winslow Homer, a well-known American landscape painter, known for his work on marine subjects, painted it.
Polo Crowd (Painting)
Polo Crowd, a 1910 painting by George Bellows, was purchased by Bill Gates for a staggering $ 28 million at an auction in December 1999.
George was a phenomenal realist painter who specialized in depicting the horror and turmoil of New York City’s metropolitan class.
Room of Flowers (Painting)
Frederick Childe Hassam’s painting “Room of Flowers,” sold for $ 20 million, was purchased by Bill Gates, placing him on the twentieth century’s significant art collectors.
Frederick Childe was a prolific impressionist painter who introduced impressionism to American collectors, dealers, and museums.
The Nursery (Painting)
Bill Gates recently purchased The Nursery, oil on panel painting, from Michigan collector Richard Manoogian for $10 million.
It was one of William Merritt Chase’s finest works, completed in 1890.
He was more of a teacher than a painter, but when he was elected president of the Society of American Artists in 1880, he became the most influential figure in the art world.
Distant Thunder (Painting)
Similarly, in 1996, Bill Gates purchased this artwork for $7 million.
Andrew Wythe’s Distant Thunder is one of the most well-known works of art from the twentieth century.
Andrew Wythe, a realist painter who tended to work in a regionalist style, is well known for Christina’s World.
He was, ironically, one of the most reviled musicians in modern memory.
Listening music
Bill has a wide range of musical tastes. Frank Sinatra is one of his favorite artists.
Bill Gates Brands
Microsoft Spot Watch
Bill Gates, one of the world’s wealthiest guys, didn’t wear a watch until recently.
He now wears a SPOT watch that tells him the time and provides him with news through FM transmission.
Jets owned by Bill Gates
Bill Gates is a guy who enjoys traveling.
As of 2018, he claimed to own two Bombardier BD 700 Global Express aircraft and a Cessna 208 by Challenger Administration LLC. (Michael Larson, a representative of Cascade Investment, is an executive at Challenger.)
These 2 Bombardier planes, each costing $45 million, are ultra-long-range corporate sky horses with a range of 6,700 nautical miles at 0.8 Mach.
In addition, Gates owns a fractional share of at least one NetJets plane by his NetJets membership.
Bill Gates: Auto and Cars
Bill Gates has long been a Porsche enthusiast. Here are Gate’s selections from Porshe’s collection:
1999 Porsche 911 convertible
It’s love at first glance with the Porsche 911 Carrera.
With its superb aesthetic appeal and gleaming sides, it is much more than just a car. A 3.4-liter 24-valve 6-cylinder engine produces 296 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque under the hood. In addition, the rear-mounted, water-cooled engine has incredible acceleration, accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in just over 5 seconds.
1988 Porsche 959 Coupe
The 1988 Porsche 959 Coupe, once known as the world’s fastest street-legal production car, was first launched as a Group B rally car.
It was the advanced road-going sports car ever made and the forerunner to all future supercars. Just 337 units were made, making it a true collector’s item. Bill Gates’ 959 is the subject of a fascinating tale.
Porsche 930 Turbo
Bill Gates purchased the Porsche 930 in the early days of Microsoft.
In fact, it was the fastest production car available in Germany at the time of its arrival. Also, it was a top-of-the-line standard for the period of its production.
Porsche 930 Turbo had a 260 PS engine that produced 191 kW and 256 hp. This car will accelerate from zero to sixty miles per hour in 5.2 seconds and achieve a maximum speed of 153 mph.
Mercedes, BMW, and a Corvette:
Gates has also been photographed in a Mercedes S Class and a BMW 7 Series.
And, of course, he’s spent a lot of time in limousines.
The Porsches he drives are the only luxury cars he has, and he does not appear to drive a Ferrari or Lamborghini.
Among all, his Chevrolet Corvette is said to be his proudest possession.
Bill Gates: Holiday Destinations (Getaways)
Bill’s favorite vacation spot is the Apussuit Adventure Camp, a small skiing resort 15 miles outside Maniitsoq, West Greenland.
He takes a helicopter to this location, which has no ski lifts and no human settlement, whenever he wants a break from his non-profit organization Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s hectic travel and job schedule.
Bill Gates Net Worth Milestones:
- 1986 $350 million
- 1987 $1.25 billion
- 1990 $2.5 billion
- 1990 $15 billion
- 1997 $40 billion
- 1999 $85 billion
- 2000 $63 billion
- 2008 $58 billion
- 2009 $40 billion
- 2014 $76 billion
- 2020 $130 billion
His net worth peaked at $100 billion in 1999. After using today’s values and correcting for inflation, that was worth $153 billion.
Philanthropic Endeavors
Since 1994, he has donated more than $50 billion to charities. On the other hand, his fortune has risen faster than the money he has donated.
Gates and his wife merged three family foundations in 2000, and Gates pledged $5 billion in stock to establish the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The foundation was named the world’s most prosperous charitable foundation by the Funds for NGOs Corporation in 2013, with assets worth more than $34.6 billion.
Global Health Division, Global Development Division, United States Division and Global Policy & Advocacy Division are the five program areas.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to addressing the world’s largest inequities for more than two decades.
Gates has also contributed personally to educational institutions and a venture capital firm seeking a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had donated a substantial sum of money to scientific and humanitarian causes.
Gates also participates in charitable sporting activities.
Hot Issue: Bill Gates and Melinda Gates Divorce
Bill and Melinda Gates have declared their divorce after 27 years of marriage, saying in a joint statement that they “no longer think we will flourish together as a couple in this next step of our lives.”
Gates is the world’s fourth-richest man, according to Forbes.
Melinda Gates, on the other hand, Melinda Gates is one of the world’s most influential women.
The news of Bill and Melinda Gates’ divorce begs the issue of what will happen to Gates’ vast fortune.
According to the index provided by Bloomberg Billionaires, the couple worth a combined $146 billion has given no public indication of their financial intentions. However, they have said that they will continue their philanthropy together.
On the other hand, separating money could be more difficult for Bill and Melinda Gates than splitting the Bezos fortune.
Jennifer, their eldest daughter, wrote on Instagram,
“It’s been a hard time for our whole family.”
“It is not a 50-50 split,” said Janet George, a family lawyer with McKinley Irvin’s firm in Washington. “Depending on what is just and fair, the courts will grant more or less.” She claims that the people will never know how they share the fortune to be concealed under secret contracts.
As a result, we can assume that with $146 billion on the line, Bill Gates might no longer be among the world’s wealthiest people.
The final notice will be reissued once more, so let’s wait for that.
Bill Gates facts that would astound you
- 1. According to Business Insider figures Gates earns around $1,300 per second, based on how much richer he has been in the last year.
- 2. Gates is 66 percent wealthier than the government of the United Kingdom.
- 3. Gates’ net worth exceeds the total GDP of Luxembourg, Estonia, and Bolivia.
- 4. Gates is wealthier than the richest man in Asia, and the richest man in China put together.
FAQS
What is Bill Gates IQ?
Bill Gates has an IQ score of 160, the highest score among the world’s technology CEOs.
Which phone does Bill Gates have?
Bill Gates uses a Samsung Galaxy S8 with the Microsoft Edition. Since Gates founded Microsoft, he’s been using Windows mobile phones for a long time.
How much does Bill Gates make in a second?
Approximately Bill Gates makes $4360 in a second.
