Bill Gates slips out of top 10 world's richest men; loses $52 bn in a week

Bill Gates, the billionaire who once ruled the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has now slipped from the 5th position to the 12th position with his total net worth currently at $124 billion

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is out of the top ten ranking on the world’s richest list, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

 

Gates, the billionaire who once ruled the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, has now slipped from the 5th position to the 12th position with his total net worth currently at $124 billion, lower than his former assistant and successor as Microsoft’s former chief Steve Ballmer, who has taken over the 5th spot on the billionaires index.

 

In a week, Gates' wealth has declined a staggering 30 per cent or $52 billion. Previously, his net worth was reported at $172 billion. In the last day, his wealth plummeted $351 million. The latest change comes after a recalculation was done of Gates’ charitable offerings. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the appreciation rates used in the calculations were lowered on July 3, 2025, to better reflect Gates’ outside charitable giving and the wealth estimate provided in a May 8, 2025, Gates Notes blog post. 

Bill Gates' latest losses have put him behind Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett, Google-parent Alphabet's co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. 

Earlier, in May 2025, Gates, in a blog post, announced a 20-year deadline to donate his wealth through his Gates Foundation to the cause of saving and improving lives around the world, adding that on December 31, 2045, the foundation will close its doors permanently. In the blog post, he mentioned that he had $108 billion in net wealth and had committed to donate almost all of it towards charity in the next 20 years. 

 

The blog mentioned, “On the occasion of its 25th year, the Gates Foundation today made a new commitment to accelerate its mission to help all people live healthy, productive lives by spending $200 billion over the next 20 years. The decision marks a major acceleration in the foundation’s work and sets a new date of 2045 to sunset its operations.” 

Gates owns a one per cent stake in Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, and has received $60 billion worth of stocks and dividends.