Bill Gates fell to the lowest billionaire status in decades; is he going to sell a couple of yachts?
The co-founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, has seen a sharp decline in his billionaire status, to the lowest points in many years.
Despite having a net worth of about $128 billion, Gates is currently the ninth richest person in the world, according to a recent Forbes Billionaire Index study. Just one month ago, he was listed as the seventh richest person in the world on the billionaires list.
Gates’ recent decline in the rankings, which began in 1995 and continued for nearly thirty years, represents a significant shift in the dynamics of the world’s wealth distribution. There are two main reasons why Gates’ wealth has declined significantly. The first is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has amassed nearly $59 billion in donations. The second factor was his 2021 divorce from Melina French Gates, which further exacerbated his financial situation.
Despite his reputation for being an environmental activist, Gates faced criticism for owning superyachts. He does, however, apparently now intend to sell his two yachts, per Benzinga. In 2021, the co-founder of Microsoft paid $25 million for his first superyacht, The Wayfinder, which was constructed by Astilleros Armon. Being a shadow craft, the yacht typically escorts a larger mothership that hasn’t been revealed to the public yet. At Feadship, the mothership, also called Project 821, is under construction. The mothership, which will be among the largest and most luxurious ships the shipyard has ever built, is 390 feet long and has an interior volume of more than 7,000 gross tonnes (GT).
It’s still unclear why the sales are happening. However, some contend that the costly vessels’ operating and maintenance costs are too high, while others believe that Gates is growing more concerned about environmental issues as a result of his previous comments, which indicated that he was aware of the large carbon footprint. “I don’t care where I rank on the list of the world’s richest people, but I do know that as I succeed in giving, I will drop down and eventually off the list altogether,” he wrote in the 2022 Gates Notes.
His long-term goal of donating the majority of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is aligned with his statement. In addition, Gates appears to be strengthening his standing as a climate activist. Selling the yachts would be a good way for Gates to set an example of cutting back on luxury spending and lessening its environmental impact, especially in light of the growing global concern over climate change.
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