Bill Gates' philanthropy is well documented, and in early June he took another major step by donating 64 million Microsoft shares. The shares have a market value of $4.6 billion, reducing his stake in Redmond to 1.3 percent. This also represents five percent of his personal fortune, yet he remains the richest man in the world.
The only two people who can currently challenge Bill Gates for the top spot on the world's richest list are Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, and the Spanish Amancio Ortega Gaona, owner of Zara. There's less than $4 billion difference among the three, due to the fact that the former Microsoft executive recently donated 64 million shares worth $4.6 billion. It's his largest donation since 1999, when he gave about $16 billion (also in shares), followed by another $5.1 billion in 2000. The transfer took place on June 6 and was reported by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Technically, it's not entirely known who received the donation, but according to Bloomberg it's the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the institution the magnate created in 1994. Calculations suggest Gates has contributed 700 million Microsoft shares to his foundation so far, worth over $50.3 billion. This latest gift equals 38 percent of his share volume in the company and reduces his overall stake to 1.3 percent.
Beyond his extreme generosity, we must return to the detail of the first paragraph: Bill Gates remains the richest man on the planet. Bloomberg's latest update places him at $86.1 billion, but Jeff Bezos is close again with $84.2 billion, after briefly surpassing him on July 27.
Bloomberg
