Bill Gates gave so much money away that his former no.2 and Microsoft successor is now wealthier than him

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Billionaire Bill Gates was once crowned the richest man in the world for 18 years, but now his former right-hand man, Steve Ballmer has topped his wealth. After Gates’ net worth plummeted $51 billion to reflect his philanthropic spending, Ballmer took his spot as the fifth richest man in the world, as Gates slipped down to 12th place. And the Microsoft cofounder will only continue to slide down the ranking as he’s determined to not die rich.

Bill Gates was once the richest man in the world for 18 years, and currently boasts a jealousy-inducing net worth of $124 billion from cofounding the software titan Microsoft. But now his former right-hand man has more money in his bank account than he does, thanks to Gates’ billion-dollar philanthropic spending.

On July 3 last week, Gates was standing on a fortune of $175 billion, ranked as the fifth wealthiest person alive on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index. But his wealth plummeted over the span of the next couple of days as $51 billion was drained from his net worth, shooting him down the list to 12th place right below fellow tech pioneer Michael Dell.

Gates’ wealth disappeared so rapidly as the index readjusted for the 69-year-old technology mogul’s philanthropic efforts. Bloomberg noted that the appreciation rates were lowered last week to “better reflect Gates’ outside charitable giving and the wealth estimate,” based on a May 8 blog post from the former Microsoft CEO. The note disclosed that Gates would be donating his vast fortune to charity much faster than previously planned; Over the next 20 years, he would donate almost all of his wealth to the The Gates Foundation that he spearheaded with ex-wife Melinda French Gates, which will close by the end of 2045.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/bill-gates-gave-so-much-money-away-that-his-former-no-2-and-microsoft-successor-is-now-wealthier-than-him/ar-AA1IcIqd

Why didn't he give me any? - Donnie Dipshit

[ProfessorGAC]

1. An Important Point Not Mentioned

If Gates' net worth fell by $51 billion, it meant there was sufficient liquidity (or a financial equivalent) to distribute that money.
This suggests his net worth consists of transferable assets, AKA actual money.
Very unlike a certain spoiled rich kid we all know. For Richie Rich to distribute such wealth would require a sell-off of the overvalued assets that prop up his net worth. Such a sell-off would result in a pricing collapse.
No such thing happened with Bill's portfolio.

[Igel]

2. I took it as poor writing. Because of his philanthropic efforts (which occurred over a long time) there was

a reduction in attributed asset value because the attributers took note of the previous philanthropic distribution.