Editing Bill Gates (section)

=== Wealth ===
In 1987, Gates was listed as a billionaire in ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine's first ever [[Forbes 400|America's richest]] issue; he was the world's youngest-ever self-made billionaire, with a net worth of $1.25&nbsp;billion. Since then, he has been featured on [[The World's Billionaires]] list and was ranked as the richest person in 1995, 1996, 1998–2007, and 2009, maintaining the position until 2018, when [[Jeff Bezos]] surpassed his wealth. Gates was ranked first on the [[Forbes 400|''Forbes'' 400]] list of wealthiest Americans from 1993 to 2007, in 2009, and from 2014 to 2017.<ref name="Wahba">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN1748882920080917|title=Bill Gates tops US wealth list 15 years continuously|last=Wahba|first=Phil|date=September 17, 2008|access-date=November 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218124744/http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN1748882920080917|archive-date=December 18, 2008|url-status=live|work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2018/01/09/heres-why-jeff-bezos-is-not-truly-the-richest-person-in-history/#5671ba7d1f06|title=Here's Why Jeff Bezos Is Not Truly The Richest Person In History|last=Kirsch|first=Noah|magazine=Forbes|access-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111110318/https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2018/01/09/heres-why-jeff-bezos-is-not-truly-the-richest-person-in-history/#5671ba7d1f06|archive-date=January 11, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[Forbes]]'', as of 17 February 2025, Gates' estimated net worth stood at US$108.8 billion, making him the 16th richest individual in the world.<ref name=Forbes>{{Cite magazine|title=Bill Gates|url=https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/ |magazine=Forbes|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref>

Gates's wealth briefly surpassed US$100 billion in 1999, making him the first person to reach this net worth.<ref>{{harvnb|Fridson|2001|p=113}}</ref><ref name="zuckerman19971027">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/27/business/new-jet-eases-travel-hassles-for-bill-gates.html | title=New Jet Eases Travel Hassles For Bill Gates|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 27, 1997| access-date=May 20, 2021 | author=Zuckerman, Laurence | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120905015017/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/27/business/new-jet-eases-travel-hassles-for-bill-gates.html | archive-date=September 5, 2012 | url-status=live }}</ref> After 2000, the nominal value of his Microsoft holdings declined, partly because of the decline in Microsoft's stock price after the [[dot-com bubble]] burst, and partly because of the multi-billion dollar donations he had made to his charitable foundations. In May 2006, Gates remarked that he wished that he were not the richest man in the world, because he disliked the attention that it brought.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bolger|first=Joe|date=May 5, 2006|title=I wish I was not the richest man in the world, says Bill Gates|work=The Times|url =http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/united_states/article713434.ece|access-date=March 31, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080923194553/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/united_states/article713434.ece|archive-date=September 23, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> In March 2010, Gates was the second wealthiest person after [[Carlos Slim]], but regained the top position in 2013, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.<ref name="Bloom">{{cite magazine|title=Bill Gates Retakes World's Richest Title From Carlos Slim |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/|magazine=Forbes|access-date=May 30, 2013|last1=Cuadros|first1=Alex|last2=Harrison|first2=Crayton|date=May 17, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100924110301/http://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates|archive-date=September 24, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/bill-gates-regains-worlds-richest-man-title-forbes/articleshow/31353120.cms|work=The Economic Times| title=Bill Gates regains world's richest man title: Forbes|date=March 3, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914002942/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/bill-gates-regains-worlds-richest-man-title-forbes/articleshow/31353120.cms|archive-date=September 14, 2016}}</ref> Slim regained the position again in June 2014<ref name="wealthy list">{{cite news|url = https://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires |title = Forbes Billionaires list|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111203144229/http://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires|archive-date =December 3, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="New wealthiest man">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2014/07/15/mexicos-carlos-slim-reclaims-worlds-richest-man-title-from-bill-gates/ | title=Mexico's Carlos Slim Reclaims World's Richest Man Title From Bill Gates | magazine=Forbes|date=June 7, 2014|access-date=September 1, 2014| author=Estevez, Dolia|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901151225/http://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2014/07/15/mexicos-carlos-slim-reclaims-worlds-richest-man-title-from-bill-gates/|archive-date=September 1, 2014}}</ref> (but then lost the top position back to Gates). Between 2009 and 2014, his wealth doubled from US$40&nbsp;billion to US$82&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The World's Billionaires|magazine=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/|access-date=November 30, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129074957/http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/|archive-date=November 29, 2014}}</ref> In October 2017, Gates was surpassed by [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] founder [[Jeff Bezos]] as the richest person in the world.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/10/27/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-is-the-richest-person-in-the-world-again/|title=Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Is The Richest Person In The World-Again|magazine=Forbes|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311082026/https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/10/27/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-is-the-richest-person-in-the-world-again/|archive-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref> In the ''Forbes'' 400 list of wealthiest Americans in 2023, he was ranked sixth with a wealth of $115.0&nbsp;billion.<!-- Do not update his net worth everyday – stick to once a week at most. --><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Bill Gates|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/?list=forbes-400&sh=5cdb2707689f|magazine=Forbes|date=October 2023|access-date=October 6, 2023|archive-date=October 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007142138/https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/?list=forbes-400&sh=5cdb2707689f|url-status=live}}</ref> He once again became the richest person in the world in November 2019 after a 48% increase in Microsoft shares, surpassing Bezos.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2019/11/16/bill-gates-regains-spot-as-worlds-richest-person/|title=Bill Gates regains spot as world's richest person over Jeff Bezos|last=Feuerherd|first=Ben|date=November 16, 2019|work=New York Post|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=November 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116075931/https://nypost.com/2019/11/16/bill-gates-regains-spot-as-worlds-richest-person/|url-status=live}}</ref> Gates told the [[BBC]], "I've paid more tax than any individual ever, and gladly so&nbsp;... I've paid over $6 billion in taxes."<ref>{{cite web |title=Newsnight Interview |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-25873306/bill-gates-us-should-pay-more-tax/|work=BBC News|access-date=August 23, 2017|date=January 24, 2014|url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170823202858/http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-25873306/bill-gates-us-should-pay-more-tax|archive-date=August 23, 2017}}</ref> He is a proponent of higher taxes, particularly for the rich.<ref>{{cite news|title=US Should Pay More Tax |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-28/bill-gates-says-rich-should-pay-more-taxes/4718650/ |work=ABC|access-date=August 23, 2017 |date=May 28, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707113753/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-28/bill-gates-says-rich-should-pay-more-taxes/4718650 |archive-date=July 7, 2017}}</ref>

Gates has several investments outside Microsoft, which in 2006 paid him a salary of US$616,667 and a bonus of US$350,000, for a total of US$966,667.<ref>{{cite web|title=Microsoft 2006 Proxy Statement |url=http://www.microsoft.com/msft/reports/proxy2006.mspx |publisher=Microsoft|date=October 6, 2007|access-date=February 14, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080219022338/http://www.microsoft.com/msft/reports/proxy2006.mspx|archive-date=February 19, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1989, he founded [[Branded Entertainment Network|Corbis]], a digital imaging company. In 2004, he became a board member of [[Berkshire Hathaway]], the investment company headed by long-time friend [[Warren Buffett]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Fried|first=Ina|date=December 14, 2004|title=Gates joins board of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway |url=http://www.news.com/Gates-joins-board-of-Buffetts-Berkshire-Hathaway/2100-1014_3-5491312.html |website=CNET|access-date=March 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120908081751/http://www.news.com/Gates-joins-board-of-Buffetts-Berkshire-Hathaway/2100-1014_3-5491312.html| archive-date=September 8, 2012|url-status=dead }}</ref>