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how did bill gates actually make his money?
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bill was the founder of microsoft, so he did indeed have a large number of shares as the company was growing exponentially.  he has previously donated a large share of his fortune to the bill and melinda gates foundation, so his fortune would be even greater were it not for the philanthropy.  he is still a large holder of microsoft stock at about $12b according to your link, but it wouldn't be wise to hold his entire fortune in one company, so he has diversified.   you can see that his investment portfolio at cascade includes ~$28b in televisa and ~$7b in berkshire hathaway. http://www.tickerspy.com/pro/bill-gates---cascade-investment and you can keep track of whether he stays at the top by watching the bloomberg billionaires list. http://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/
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