The Microsoft cofounder’s long streak as the country’s first or second richest has ended—in part due to stock transfers tied to his divorce. B ill Gates’ long streak as one of the top two richest people in America has come to an end. For the first time since 1991, the Microsoft cofounder isn’t No. 1 or No. 2 on The Forbes 400, which annually ranks the richest people in the U.S. While Gates’s fortune jumped by $23 billion from a year ago—to an estimated $134 billion—it wasn’t enough to catch Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla CEO Elon Musk or Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortunes reached new heights thanks to their respective companies’ rising share prices. Gates came in behind those three, landing at the No. 4 spot. But the stock market isn’t the only reason Gates is down from No. 2 last year. A chunk of Gates’ net worth—at least $5.6 billion worth of shares in publicly traded companies—has gone to ex-wife Melinda French Gates after they announced their divorce in May. If his marriage and fortune had stayed intact, Gates would be richer than Zuckerber… Click below to read the full story from Forbes
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Bill Gates’ Rank On The Forbes 400 Is The Lowest It’s Been In 30 Years
