Imagine this. Bill Gates, the world's first trillionaire. According to a recent Forbes analysis, if Gates had held onto his Microsoft shares since the 1986 IPO, never selling or donating his net worth today would be around $1.2 trillion, but that's not the path he chose. Over the years, gates steadily reduced his stake in Microsoft.
Focusing instead on philanthropy Today, he owns less than 1% of the company with his shares valued at about $28 billion. In a recent blog post, gates reaffirmed his commitment to giving, referencing Andrew Carnegie's the Gospel of wealth. The man who dies thus rich dies. Disgraced Gates added. People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that he died.
Rich will not be one of them. Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he has donated over $100 billion aiming to improve global health. Reduce poverty and expand educational opportunities. So while Gates could have been the richest person in history, he chose to be one of the most generous.
Sometimes the greatest wealth is the impact you leave behind.
