New Delhi: Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates pledged earlier this month that he would give away all of his wealth to his philanthropic foundation in order to be removed from the list of the world’s richest people. Almost a week after the tweet was posted on July 13, it was revealed that the 66-year-old gave away shares worth more than $6 billion to his charitable foundation last week.
According to SEC filings obtained by Business Insider, the American businessman gave the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation nearly $5.2 billion in stock in Canadian National Railway Co. According to the report, the Microsoft co-founder also donated $995 million in Deere & Company stock to the foundation on Thursday, according to last week’s filings. According to Business Insider, more than 3 million shares were transferred from Gates’ investment vehicle, Cascade Investment LLC, to the private non-profit organisation.
This comes after the tech company co-founder tweeted, “I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives.” Gates had also written: “I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too.”
As I look to the future, I plan to give virtually all of my wealth to the foundation. I will move down and eventually off of the list of the world’s richest people.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) July 13, 2022
Despite his significant donations, Gates remains the world’s fifth-richest person, according to Bloomberg and Forbes rankings. According to Bloomberg, he is trailing Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault, and Gautam Adani of India. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the Indian businessman’s personal wealth has surpassed $112.5 billion (nearly Rs 9 lakh crore), outstripping Bill Gates’ net worth by $230 million (Rs 1,830 crore). Adani Group’s founder is an Ahmedabad-based conglomerate with interests in logistics, power, energy, packaged goods, and, most recently, cement. Adani pledged to donate Rs 60,000 crore to social causes on his 60th birthday in June.
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