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How Much Money Does Bill Gates Make a Day in 2024

Find out how much Bill Gates makes a day as we break it down into hours, minutes, and even seconds.
Lauren Bedford
Author: 
Lauren Bedford
Derek Sall
Editor: 
Derek Sall
Halina Grzeskiewicz
Fact Checker: 
Halina Grzeskiewicz
13 mins
April 5th, 2024
Advertiser Disclosure

From spending your younger years in a WordArt-induced haze to typing up essays in the library like it was your job, we’re all familiar with Microsoft.

Love it or hate it, Microsoft has been in our lives for what feels like forever. And with a company so universal, you just know the person behind it must be rolling in dough.

Enter Bill Gates, the man who’s been making bank since before we knew what a mouse was. While we were trying to figure out how to make a chart in Excel, Gates was raking in thousands of dollars a minute.

So, let’s find out exactly how much this billionaire makes in a single day and how he does it—

This article will show you:
  • How much Bill Gates makes a day.

  • The net worth of Bill Gates.

  • How Bill Gates makes and spends his money.

Read more:

How Much Does Bill Gates Make a Day?

Bill Gates makes$7,671,232.88 ($7.6 million) a day, which is$319,634.70 an hour, $5,327.25 a minute, and $88.79 a second. These figures are based on his past yearly earnings and current net worth of $116.1 billion, according to Forbes.

That means he makes a whopping $53,698,630.16 a week—more than the combined GDP of Belize, Barbados, Jamaica, Fiji, and Cyprus.

How did we calculate this?

Earning $7.6 million a day seems otherworldly—so how did we get this figure?

No, we haven’t just broken down his current net worth. To get a more accurate idea, we’ve looked at his net worth from the last ten years, which shows Bill Gates makes around 2.8 billion a year.

From there, we can break it down into how much Bill Gates makes a day, an hour, a minute, and even a second—and it’s a lot.

Since you’ve been reading, Gates could have paid for an all-inclusive trip to Italy (and still have money leftover for several family-sized pizzas).

What Is Bill Gates’ Net Worth?

Bill Gates has a net worth of approximately $116.1 billion, according to Forbes.

By looking at his net worth over the last ten years, we see his value has increased by roughly $233,333,333 every month.

Bill Gates has been rolling in it for years, but his net worth has had its ups and downs due to changes in the economy and the stock market.

For example, high inflation rates in 2022 caused Gates to lose $28 billion (whether or not he noticed is a different story).

Despite his massive wealth, Gates is also a huge giver. He’s donated billions of dollars to charitable causes—and he plans to give away the majority of his fortune through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

What does Bill Gates own?

What Bill Gates doesn’t own would be a more appropriate question.

Bill Gates is the largest shareholder of Microsoft, the company he co-founded in 1975.

He currently owns 1.38% (source) of Microsoft’s shares, which might not seem like much, but it’s worth around $28.6 billion.

Gates is also known for his philanthropic work. He and his wife, Melinda, own the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has an endowment of over $67.3 billion cit@tion.

The foundation’s mission is to improve global healthcare and reduce poverty.

And when you’ve got crazy amounts of cash, you can afford to live like a king. Gates doesn’t shy away from the finer things in life and has several luxurious properties all over the world.

One of his crown jewels is Xanadu 2.0—a 66,000-square-foot mansion in Medina, Washington, that’s worth an eyebrow-raising $127.5 million. It comes with its own artificial stream, a 60-foot pool, and a trampoline room (because why not).

Find out more about the richest places to live across the US.

How much of Microsoft does Bill Gates own?

Bill Gates currently owns around 1.38% of Microsoft’s shares—worth around $28.6 billion.

This may seem surprising since he’s the face behind the company, but it’s actually pretty common for founders to have a smaller stake in their companies over time.

As companies grow and expand, they need more cash to fuel their operations, and one way to get it is by issuing more shares of stock.

And (not-so) fun fact—if you had bought one hundred shares of Microsoft at $21 back in 1986, it would be worth around three-quarters of a million dollars today, after nine stock splits.

So, if he doesn’t own that much of the company, what kind of influence does he have?

As a founder and former CEO, Bill Gates is still a major player within Microsoft. His opinions and ideas are highly valued, and he’s still on the company’s board of directors.

Overall, the amount of stock a founder owns in their company can change over time, but it doesn’t necessarily reflect their level of involvement or influence.

What is the net worth of Microsoft?

Microsoft’s net worth is currently $2.5 trillion.

This value had almost doubled from $1.6 trillion in late-2022 when inflation rates were high—but is still short of the all-time high of $2.57 trillion in November 2021.

But Microsoft’s net worth isn’t set in stone. These figures can shift depending on a bunch of factors—economic downturns, a meteor striking the CEO’s office, or even a new tech start-up could all impact Microsoft’s value.

That being said, Microsoft has been on fire lately, with their most recent quarter showing revenue growth of $52.9 billion (an increase of 7%).

And it looks like the tech company is looking to the future after saying, “At Microsoft, we believe artificial intelligence (AI) is the defining technology of our time.”

Discover why net worth isn’t always a good indicator of future net value.

How Did Bill Gates Get Rich?

Bill Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen started Microsoft in 1975. Fast forward to today, and Microsoft is one of the most successful tech companies in the world—worth a huge $2.5 trillion.

Back in the day, Bill Gates was the man behind the curtain at Microsoft, calling the shots and making things happen.

Through his leadership, Microsoft became a tech powerhouse, developing operating systems and software programs we all know and love, like Windows and Office.

And that success didn’t go unnoticed. Gates’s net worth is now over $116 billion, making him the fifth richest person on the planet.

But it’s not just Microsoft that’s been boosting Gates’s bank account. Bill Gates’s portfolio is packed with money-making ventures.

Here are some of his most profitable investments:

  • Berkshire Hathaway

  • Waste Management, Inc.

  • Canadian National Railway Company

  • Caterpillar Inc.

  • Schrödinger, Inc.

Want to follow in this billionaire’s footsteps? Check out the top investment apps to get started.

What Does Bill Gates Do With His Money?

With all that cash—fast cars, private islands, and a two-story dog mansion (hello, Paris Hilton) might come to mind.

And while Bill Gates does own a pricey 16th-century Leonardo da Vinci manuscript, he’s also given plenty to charity.

In fact, Bill Gates is one of the world’s largest donors to charitable causes.

He and his wife, Melinda, founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, to which the couple have generously donated over $59 billion so far.

Gates also invests his money in a variety of assets, including stocks, real estate, and other businesses.

His stake in Microsoft is nothing to sneeze at, and he’s also invested in a bunch of other tech companies through his investment firm, Cascade Investment.

But it’s not all work and no play. Throughout the years, Bill Gates has splurged on a $40 million private jet, a 2,100-square-foot home library, a 4.5-acre vacation ranch, and a $43 million oceanfront home in Del Mar, California.

However, it’s no secret that Bill Gates’ wealth has sparked lots of debate. Some people think he’s got too much of it, while others praise him for his philanthropic efforts.

One thing’s for sure, Gates has well and truly made his mark on the world (take my Word for it).

Key Takeaways
  • Bill Gates is making around $7.6 million a day—which is $319,634.70 an hour, $5,327.25 a minute, and $88.79 a second.

  • The billionaire is the fifth richest person in the world, with a current net worth of $116.1 billion.

  • Microsoft is a big reason behind his success—he currently owns 1.38% of Microsoft’s shares, which is worth around $28.6 billion.

  • Bill Gates knows how to splurge—but he’s also one of the world’s largest charitable donors, starting the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation back in 2000.

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Sources

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Contributors

Lauren Bedford
Lauren is a published content writer and journalist. In the last five years, she has written about a range of subjects, including business, technology, and finance. She was born in June 1994 in the UK, but relocated to Barcelona five years ago. Initially covering topics like business and technology, Lauren is now dedicated to her position as a personal finance journalist and is always keen to keep learning and evolve as a finance writer.
Derek Sall
Derek has a Bachelor's degree in Finance and a Master's in Business. As a finance manager in the corporate world, he regularly identified and solved problems at the C-suite level. Today, Derek isn't interested in helping big companies. Instead, he's helping individuals win financially — one email, one article, one person at a time.
Halina Grzeskiewicz
Halina is a content writer with nearly 5 years of experience. She has written about several topics, including human resources, technology, Forex, cryptocurrencies, and personal finance.
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