Bill Gates falls from Top 10 billionaires list — will he die poor?

Talk about an unexpected role reversal — Bill Gates just slipped out of the world’s top 10 richest people.

And guess who zoomed past him?  None other than his former assistant, Steve Ballmer.

According to Bloomberg’s freshly updated Billionaires Index, Gates’ net worth took a whopping $52 billion nosedive — not because of bad bets or a tech meltdown, but because Bloomberg decided to recalibrate how they tally his fortune.

Their new math now better reflects Gates’ mega-sized philanthropy, which he’s long been vocal about. 

The result? A 30% drop in his estimated wealth, knocking him from 5th place down to a humble 12th.

That leaves him trailing behind Alphabet’s founders, Nvidia’s chip wizard Jensen Huang, investing legend Warren Buffett — and yes, Steve Ballmer, who once fetched Gates’ coffee and later ran Microsoft.

In a May blog post, Gates said he’s worth about $108 billion and plans to give away “virtually all” of it over the next two decades through the Gates Foundation.

Bloomberg, taking him at his word, tweaked their valuation model by dialing down projected appreciation and aligning more closely with Gates’ own estimate.

Bottom line

Gates is still ridiculously wealthy — just not quite billionaire leaderboard material anymore.

But hey, when your fortune shrinks because you’re giving it away to save the world? That’s the kind of flex money can’t buy.

The Microsoft co-founder and once the world’s richest person, recently saw his net worth drop by a staggering $52 billion — about 30%— in a single week. 

Gates’ net worth fell from around $175 billion to $124 billion, pushing him from 5th to 12th on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index234.

The recalculation means Gates now ranks below his former Microsoft colleague Steve Ballmer and other tech titans like Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Warren Buffett.

Yes, Bill Gates has made it clear that he does not want to die rich. 

In a series of public statements and blog posts, Gates has pledged to give away nearly all his fortune within his lifetime. 

He has set a deadline: by December 31, 2045, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will close its doors, having spent almost all of his wealth.

Gates has cited Andrew Carnegie’s famous maxim, “the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced,” as a guiding principle for his philanthropy. 

He believes that the ultra-wealthy have a moral obligation to return their fortunes to society, especially given the scale of global challenges such as poverty, disease, and education.

The primary vehicle for Gates’ philanthropy is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest private charitable organizations. 

Founded in 2000, the foundation has already distributed more than $100 billion to causes around the globe.

Global Health: Eradicating diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS; improving vaccine access; maternal and child health.

Education: Supporting innovations in K-12 and higher education, with a focus on equity and access.

Poverty alleviation: Funding agricultural development, financial services for the poor, and emergency relief.

Africa: Gates has announced that the majority of the foundation’s accelerated $200 billion spending over the next 20 years will be directed to improving health and education across Africa, where nearly 500 million people live below the poverty line.

The Giving Pledge: Co-founded by Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett, this campaign encourages billionaires to commit at least half their wealth to philanthropy.

COVID-19 Response: The foundation played a major role in funding vaccine research and distribution during the pandemic.

Partnerships: Collaborates with governments, NGOs, and other philanthropies to maximise impact.

By 2045, Gates expects to have given away 99% of his fortune, with the foundation spending at least $200 billion before closing. 

This accelerated timeline is a significant shift from earlier plans to keep the foundation running for decades after his death.

Gates’ actions set a new standard for philanthropy among the world’s wealthiest, demonstrating a commitment to addressing urgent global issues rather than accumulating wealth for its own sake.