14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft’s co-founder Bill Gates has sold 20 million more company shares, thus dropping under the 300 million share mark for the first time in history.
Bill Gates, who started selling Microsoft shares after stepping down as company CEO, currently has 298 million shares, according to a report by Computerworld and citing documents published by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Gates’ shares are worth $12.9 billion (€9.65 billion).
Official documents show that the latest sale took place between July 24 and July 30, with Gates selling shares at prices ranging between $43.45 (€32.50) and $44.54 (€33.35), bringing back no less than $882 million (€660 million) in cash.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who stepped down as the big boss in February, replaced Bill Gates as the number one shareholder of the software giant in May, after another shares sale made by the one who founded the company.
According to official documents, Steve Ballmer currently holds a total of 333 million Microsoft shares, which is approximately 4 percent of the company. Ballmer said with several occasions that he had no intention to sell his shares, confirming in the letter sent to employees when he decided to retire that he would stay with the company for as long as possible.
“I am excited by our mission of empowering the world and believe in our future success. I cherish my Microsoft ownership, and look forward to continuing as one of Microsoft’s largest owners,” he said in February.
Bill Gates is currently the second richest man in the entire world, with a net worth of $79.2 billion (€59.2 billion), according to Forbes statistics, just after Carlos Slim with $79.5 billion (€59.5 billion).
Gates returned to Microsoft in February in the role of technical adviser, promising to work with CEO Satya Nadella on new products and thus help the company deliver the solutions that customers need the most. The company’s co-founder is said to spend at least one day every week working for Microsoft, but he has already expressed his intention to return in a much more active role sometime in the future.
At this point, he’s one of the world’s leading philanthropists and he’s well known for the fight against a number of diseases in developing countries. At the same time, he’s also the founder of the Bill and Melinda Foundation and one of the largest shareholders at several companies across the world, including American holding and investment company Cascade Investment.