Bill Gates No Longer In Top 10 Richest List After Net Worth Falls By 30%

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is no longer among the 10 richest people in the world after losing $52 billion in net worth in a matter of seven days. Mr Gates' net worth plummeted by a staggering 30 per cent when his charity contributions were recalculated, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Mr Gates was replaced in fifth position by his former assistant and ex-Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, who now has a higher net worth of $172 billion. The co-founder went from fifth to twelfth on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index after his net worth dropped from nearly $175 billion to $124 billion following the recalculation.

In the rankings, Mr Gates is now behind long-time friend and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, Google-parent Alphabet's co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

Here's a list of the 12 richest people as of July 4, 2025:

1. Elon Musk - $361 billion
2. Mark Zuckerberg - $254 billion
3. Larry Ellison - $253 billion
4. Jeff Bezos - $244 billion
5. Steve Ballmer - $172 billion
6. Larry Page - $163 billion
7. Bernard Arnault - $161 billion
8. Sergey Brin - $152 billion
9. Warren Buffett - $146 billion
10. Jensen Huang - $139 billion
11. Michael Dell - $138 billion
12. Bill Gates - $124 billion

Mr Gates' personal wealth abruptly declined as a result of his large charity contributions and the Gates Foundation donation. They claimed to modify the appreciation rates to "better reflect Mr Gates' outside charitable giving and the wealth estimate" he shared in a May blog post.

In the blog, he said he had $108 billion in net wealth and committed to donating almost all of it over the next 20 years through the Gates Foundation.

The foundation will have spent over $200 billion before closing by the end of 2045, he estimated.

Mr Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, gave the Gates Foundation an astounding $60 billion by the end of December 2024.

He currently owns around one per cent of Microsoft and has received dividends and stock worth approximately $60 billion.

Mr Ballmer has surpassed his former boss in wealth, a remarkable accomplishment for an ex-employee in comparison to the company's founder. This is mostly because Microsoft changed its early compensation agreement from profit-sharing to stock.

Mr Ballmer took over as CEO in 2000 and exited in 2014, leaving with a 4 per cent ownership stake. His fortune has increased dramatically over the last 10 years due to the rise in Microsoft's shares.