Bill Gates’s fortune is something that most people could only imagine, but even if he lost 99 percent of it, the amount he’d be left with could leave anyone speechless.
The Microsoft founder previously vowed to donate the majority of his wealth to Africa, and if he did, the continent could see his riches spread across major sectors, providing citizens with enough support to live well.
Gates shared that he plans to donate 99 percent of his estimated $200 billion fortune he earned through co-founding Microsoft fifty years ago.
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As the thirteenth richest person in the word, that donation would be no small amount.
However, what would he be left with?
Well, according to Forbes, as of 2025, Gates has approximately $116.6 billion in the bank and recently appears to have already donated a billion as his May update shows a billion less.
Let’s do the math, here.
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If Gates was to donate 99 percent of his wealth, he would still be left with $1.16600 billion for himself.
Speaking to Stephen Colbert on his late-night talk show, Gates explained that at the time he had $138 billion, leaving him with $1.3b billion for himself should he invest his money at that time, and the host was stunned.
The Seattle-born billionaire's charity, the Gates Foundation, also hosted an event in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, on June 5, where he shared his plans to invest his money in health and education services.
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"I recently made a commitment that my wealth will be given away over the next 20 years. And so you can see, you know, I'm extremely lucky. My wealth has gotten to a very high level here. And now, by accelerating my giving, I will have the Gates Foundation take all of those resources," he explained.
"And in fact, one thing that I haven't said publicly before is that if we think about the priorities and the great partnerships we have, the majority of that funding will be spent on helping you address challenges here in Africa."
Now, if you thought his kids were going to get his wealth, think about.
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He spoke to Raj Shamani on his podcast, Figuring Out with Raj Shamani, last month, where he explained that Phoebe, Rory and Jennifer, will only receive less than one per cent.
He was asked whether parents should save their money to give to their children, and responded: "Everybody gets to decide on that, in my case my kids got a great upbringing and education but less than one percent of the total wealth because I decided it wouldn't be a favor to them.
"It's not a dynasty, I'm not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success."
He went on to share that by investing in Africa, he can help them to 'next-generation healthcare systems' through AI.
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"As Graça said, it's time for Africans to leverage all the resources at their disposal and take the destiny of the people into their own hands." he said.
He continued: "I can say to you that this will be deeply important. It's an incredible opportunity. It brings challenges with it, but as we drive it forward, it will make a huge difference in health, education, and agriculture.
"And now I'm seeing young people in Africa embracing this, and thinking about how it applies to the problems that they want to solve."
Topics: Bill Gates, Money, Microsoft, Africa
Britt Jones