Bill Gates — $138 Billion

Bill Gates, the famed founder of Microsoft, has a massive net worth of $138 billion. Over much of the last two decades, Gates has been the wealthiest person on the planet. He dropped to number two in July 2017 when Amazon founder Jeff Bezos overtook him. Today, Gates remains one of the world’s five richest people.

Gates first became a billionaire at 31 years old in 1987. He would be worth $175 billion had he never donated to charity. As you probably know, Gates co-founded the company Microsoft with Paul Allen, and the pair have become pioneering entrepreneurs of the computer revolution. He now owns less than 1.3% shares of Microsoft after selling tens of billions worth of shares over the years. The proceeds of his sales went to Cascade Investment LLC, the venture he uses to invest in many other companies.