Bill and Melinda Gates have announced their decision to divorce after 27 years of marriage.
Naturally, this brings into question what will happen with Gates’ wealth.
Bill Gates is the world’s fourth richest man, coming in just behind Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Bernard Arnault and family.
Meanwhile, Melinda Gates has frequently been ranked as the world’s most powerful woman.
Although nothing has been decided, it is believed they will split the fortune .
But how much is he actually worth? Here we take a closer look at his net worth, how much he started with – and how he makes money today.
Bill Gates net worth
As of 2021, he is worth a jaw-dropping $130billion (£98billion).
Business Insider did some calculations on how much wealthier Gates got in the last year, and found out he makes approximately $4,630 (£3,342) per second.
Gates earned the bulk of his wealth as the CEO, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft, which he co-founded with school friend Paul Allen in 1975 after dropping out of Harvard University.
How much money did Gates start off with?
Before starting Microsoft, Paul and Bill had started a a computerised traffic analysis system called “Traf-o-Data”, which netted them $20,000 after selling it to the Washington State Highway Department.
His parents are also believed to have helped at the beginning, funding personal costs, equipment and working space.
Their costs were low enough to get the company started, and after a time it started making money – which is when they looked at investment funding.
Gates explained in an interview in 2013, that they eventually sold 5% of the company for $1million in order to get a "venture capital company to join our board and give us some adult advice about various things".
Originally called Micro-Soft, Microsoft was invented to product software for an early personal computer called Altair 8800.
A year after the company went public, 31-year-old Gates became the world’s youngest billionaire.
In 1985, Microsoft released a new operating system called Windows.
By the late 1980s, Microsoft was the world’s biggest personal-computer software company.
How does Bill Gates make money today?
Gates still owns approximately 1% of Microsoft.
When the company went public in 1986 he owned 49% of the software firm – becoming an instant millionaire.
Gates stepped down from the board of Microsoft in March 2020 in order to spend more time on his foundation, which he co-chairs with Melinda.
He is believed to have donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation, leaving him with just the 1%.
Gates still makes money from Microsoft, but he has also invested in a number of other ventures, including founding digital imaging company Corbis in 1989.
He has also served as director for investment company Berkshire Hathaway.
Other investments include stakes in automotive retailer AutoNation, and water, hygiene and energy providers Ecolab.
Gates is also chairman of TerraPower, a nuclear reactor design company.
Melinda and Bill are intending to remain co-chairs for their foundation.
