After developing one of the world’s most widely-used multinational technology corporations, Microsoft, American author, investor, software developer, and business magnate William Henry Gates officially became a paper billionaire in 1986. Making Microsoft available to the global community back in April 1975, Gates has gone on to mark himself as one of the richest people in the world by investing in various companies such as Walmart Inc. (WMT), Deere & Co. (DE), Coca-Cola Femsa SAB de CV (KOF), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), and so many more.
Currently obtaining a net worth of approximately USD 122.4 billion, the 66-year-old businessman announced this past week that he will be slowly removing himself from the billionaire’s list. “As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation,” Gates wrote in a recent tweet. “I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people.”
Bill Gates has lived a life of over 50 years as a multi-billionaire and is understandably attempting to remove himself from the spotlight. “I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact on reducing suffering and improving lives — I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too,” the father of four stated to conclude his declaration. Transparently referring to the likes of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, it will be interesting to see if any other wealthy Americans donate the surplus of their hard-earned funds to the charities of their choice.