14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates sold “only” 32 million company shares this year, as he plans to remain Redmond’s biggest stakeholder.
Gates, who started to sell Microsoft stock a long time ago, has decided to slow down the process of selling company shares in 2015, dropping from 68 million in 2014 to just 32 million this year, GeekWire reports.
Former chairman and CEO of Microsoft, Bill Gates, who is now more involved in his philanthropy projects across the world with his Bill & Melinda Foundation charity, raised $1.51 billion from the stock sale this year, less than half the amount obtained last year, when he gained $3.35 billion from the process.
Ballmer, the number one individual shareholder
Right now, Steve Ballmer is the biggest individual shareholder of Microsoft after Bill Gates’ sale. Ballmer spent nearly 34 years at Microsoft and stepped down as CEO last year before eventually giving up on its board member position as well.
He will remain one of the biggest shareholders of the company, and he has already expressed his intention of keeping his shares in the coming years, despite his investments in other businesses, including NBA basketball team Los Angeles Clippers.
Bill Gates continues to be a board member of Microsoft, and he also holds the role of technical adviser to CEO Satya Nadella, the company’s new leader, who replaced Steve Ballmer in early 2014. Nadella, who is the third CEO of the software giant after Bill Gates himself and Ballmer, is the one who insisted for Gates to return to the company after he took over the reins of the firm.
Gates previously said that he spends approximately one day per week at Microsoft, promising to become more involved in future projects in the coming years. He’s believed to be the one behind several important projects at the company, but only very little has been said about them.