Why Bill Gates' children will not inherit his massive Rs 870000 crore fortune? (2024)

Bill Gates: Microsoft founder’s three children were born with silver spoons but it appears they will only be inheriting a ‘miniscule’ part of their father’s massive fortune.

Once the world’s richest person, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has a massive net worth of $105 billion (over Rs 8.7 lakh crore). He stepped down from Microsoft board in 2020 but still owns around 1.3% stake in one of the world’s biggest companies. He is also one of the largest farmland owners in the US.

Bill Gates and his wife Melinda ended their 27-year-old marriage in 2021. The couple have two daughters, Jennifer Catherine Gates (26) and Phoebe Adele Gates (20), and one son Rory John Gates (23).

Despite being born to a billionaire father, the three Gates children will not be inheriting the billions of Bill. They will be getting less than 1% of his humongous wealth, a shockingly low amount. Most of Bill Gates’ fortune has been earmarked for the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, which he and his ex-wife still cochair after their high-profile divorce.

The reason that Gates is not leaving a major part of his huge wealth for his children was revealed in 2014. Gates had said that leaving behind massive sums of money will not be a favour to his kids. The idea, in fact, came to him from another billionaire.

“I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favour to them. Warren Buffett was part of an article in Fortune talking about this in 1986 before I met him and it made me think about it and decide he was right,” the tech legend had said during a TED conference in Canada back then. A few years later he had revealed that each of the three kids will get an inheritance of $10 million each (around Rs 83 crore each).

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Why Bill Gates' children will not inherit his massive Rs 870000 crore fortune? (2024)

FAQs

Why Bill Gates' children will not inherit his massive Rs 870000 crore fortune? ›

The reason that Gates is not leaving a major part of his huge wealth for his children was revealed in 2014. Gates had said that leaving behind massive sums of money will not be a favour to his kids. The idea, in fact, came to him from another billionaire.

How much money do the Gates kids have? ›

Worth $130 billion, the Microsoft mogul plans leave just $10 million to each of his kids — Jennifer, 25, Rory, 21, and Phoebe, 18.

How much is Warren Buffett leaving to his kids? ›

Buffett plans on leaving his kids $2 billion each, the Washington Post reported in 2014. He once said in a letter to shareholders that he recommends that super-wealthy families "leave the children enough so that they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing."

How many biological children does Bill Gates have? ›

Their three children, Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe, have largely avoided the spotlight and now seem mostly engaged in academic pursuits. An equally important part of Gates' story is his own illustrious heritage.

Was Bill Gates family rich or poor? ›

He was born upper-upper middle class [note Edit, below], his father was one of the most successful attorneys in Seattle, and his family was able to afford to send him to Lakeside, a distinguished private high school — and the first one in the area to give high school students access to computer time in the 1970s.

Who inherits Warren Buffett's money? ›

As such, he confirmed “99%-plus” of his wealth will be donated to his charitable trust, while confirming his three children—now between ages 65 and 70—are the executors of his current will.

Did Bill Gates borrow money from his parents? ›

Gates did not start Microsoft with a loan from his parents, it was entirely bootstrapped financially. Paul Allen and Gates had saved up a small amount of money from contract work. Together they provided all of Microsoft's seed capital.

Which billionaire is not leaving money to his family? ›

Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, is one of the richest tycoons in the world. He and his ex-wife Melinda Gates are the biggest names in the tech world. Even though Bill Gates is worth around $10,560 crore and his ex-wife Melinda Gates is worth $660 crore, the Gates children are not entitled to any inheritance.

What will Warren Buffett's kids inherit? ›

Warren Buffett is only leaving his three children an inheritance of 2 billion each out of his predicted estate of 65 billion. Why would he not distribute all of his estate to his children? Because he wants to leave large amounts to his many charities.

How much would Warren Buffett be worth if he didn t donate? ›

The majority of Buffett's $118 billion fortune is tied up in stock; his remaining shares are worth about $112 billion. As Business Insider points out, if Buffett had held on to all the shares he's given away, his net worth would top $250 billion.

Does Bill Gates have a syndrome? ›

Gates has also been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, which is considered to be on the autism spectrum. This diagnosis is based on his speech patterns and behavior, as well as his difficulty understanding social cues.

Does Bill Gates have a college degree? ›

Bill Gates attends the 2022 Time 100 Gala at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on June 08, 2022, in New York City. Bill Gates never finished his undergraduate degree — the billionaire dropped out of Harvard University after three semesters to start Microsoft.

How much of Microsoft does Bill Gates own? ›

Key Takeaways. Institutional investors are the majority owners of Microsoft, accounting for almost 70% of outstanding shares. Former CEO Steve Ballmer owns a 4% stake in Microsoft, more than its founder Bill Gates, who holds a 1.3% stake. Vanguard and Blackrock are the two largest Microsoft's institutional investors.

What does Bill Gates donate his money to? ›

The primary stated goals of the foundation are to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty across the world, and to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology in the U.S. Key individuals of the foundation include Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, Warren Buffett, chief executive officer ...

Where did Bill Gates wealth come from? ›

Bill Gates diversified his fortune from software firm Microsoft into dozens of holdings, including waste disposal firm Republic Services and tractor maker Deere & Co. Gates, a computer enthusiast from a young age, dropped out of Harvard to cofound Microsoft with Paul Allen (d.

Who was the richest person before Bill Gates? ›

Rockefeller atop the list of the richest Americans in history, followed by Cornelius Vanderbilt and John Jacob Astor. Bill Gates was the top living person, coming in fifth.

How much will the Gates children inherit? ›

He confirmed that his three children would each inherit $10 million (£7.2 million), which is less than one per cent of his wealth. Gates explained: 'I definitely think leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favour to them.

Will Bill Gates children get any money? ›

Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder, is one of the richest tycoons in the world. He and his ex-wife Melinda Gates are the biggest names in the tech world. Even though Bill Gates is worth around $10,560 crore and his ex-wife Melinda Gates is worth $660 crore, the Gates children are not entitled to any inheritance.

How much did Gates donate? ›

Topping the list is Bill Gates, who gave $5 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to back the grantmaker's work in global health, development, policy and advocacy, and U.S. education.

How much money does Gates have? ›

What is Bill Gates' net worth? Bill Gates is a millionaire thousands of times over: As of February 2024, Forbes reported his net worth at over $123 billion, most of which came from his position as the largest individual shareholder of Microsoft, which he started with Paul Allen in 1975.

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