For more than three decades, Bill Gates sat at the pinnacle of global wealth. Since 1991, the Microsoft co-founder consistently ranked either first or second on the Forbes 400 list of America’s wealthiest individuals. But in 2025, for the first time in 34 years, Gates has slipped out of the world’s top 10 richest people, marking a historic shift in the billionaire landscape.
According to Forbes, Gates now ranks 17th on the annual Forbes 400 list with an estimated fortune of $106.4 billion. He sits behind Michael Bloomberg, the co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., but ahead of Mukesh Ambani.
The decline, however, is less about failed investments than deliberate choice. Gates has pledged to donate 99% of his remaining wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation over the next two decades, planning for the foundation to close in 2045, the year he turns 90.
“I’ve made my will very clear,” Gates told Forbes in May. “After my death, everything will go to the foundation, and its leaders will determine how best to use the assets.”
The billionaire philanthropist has already given away $7 billion since last year’s Forbes 400 ranking, part of an ongoing commitment that could total $200 billion in charitable giving by 2045.
Gates’s slide in the billionaire rankings began in 2021, the same year he divorced Melinda French Gates after 27 years of marriage. His fortune then stood at $134 billion, placing him fourth on the Forbes 400. Since then, his wealth has steadily declined, dropping to ninth place in 2024 and falling further this year.
The divorce settlement also reshaped his financial standing. French Gates received an estimated $29 billion in assets, alongside $12.5 billion earmarked for her philanthropic ventures following her departure from the Gates Foundation.
Despite his reduced fortune, Gates, who will turn 70 in October, has set ambitious goals for his foundation: preventing maternal and child deaths from preventable causes, eradicating polio, combating malaria, and tackling infectious diseases.
While his net worth may continue to shrink, Gates appears unfazed. His priority, he insists, is not staying among the world’s richest, but leaving behind a legacy of global health and humanitarian impact.
Top 10 List
The list is currently topped by Elon Musk, whose wealth surged to $463.2 billion, driven by Tesla and SpaceX gains. He is followed by Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder, with $351.8 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s chief executive, at $258.7 billion.
Other tech titans dominate the upper tier: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos at $240.1 billion, Google founders Larry Page ($200.5B) and Sergey Brin ($186B), Nvidia’s Jensen Huang ($154.5B), and Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer ($153.9B). Outside the U.S., Bernard Arnault & family of luxury group LVMH hold $151B, while legendary investor Warren Buffett remains in the top ten at $147.4B.
The Walton family heirs (Rob, Jim, and Alice Walton) continue to feature prominently, each with fortunes exceeding $112 billion. Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg sits just ahead of Gates at $109.4B.
Gates’s slide reflects more than market dynamics. At 69, he has pledged to donate 99% of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation by 2045. Already, he has transferred billions to charitable causes, accelerating his descent down the rankings.
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