By Adam Levy
Publication Date: 2026-05-25 05:00:00
Bill Gates is best known as the co-founder of Microsoft (MSFT 0.06%), which has been one of the most valuable companies in the world for the past 30 years. After his wealth soared to more than $100 billion in the 1990s amid the run-up in tech stocks, Gates started to step back from his business to focus on his philanthropic endeavors. He founded the Gates Foundation to combat poverty, disease, and inequity worldwide.
Today, Gates is still worth over $100 billion, despite donating huge sums to the foundation, including a considerable number of Microsoft shares. He plans to donate practically all of his wealth over the next two decades, winding down the foundation by 2045. He expects the foundation will spend more than $200 billion in that time.
Supporting all that spending is a trust fund, including a public equity portfolio worth about $33 billion. Last quarter, the investment managers in charge sold the last of Gates’ most recent Microsoft donation, leaving 43% of the portfolio…
