Well, hello, Bill! Microsoft chairman has once again returned to his throne of the richest man in the world, as increase in the software titan’s stock has boosted his wealth to $72.7 billion.
According to Bloomberg, Bill Gates has retaken the title from Mexican investor Carlos Slim.
The biggest reason for this change, as noted above, is the recent increase in Microsoft’s share prices, and that contributed to an increase of 16 percent year-to-date. Gates has occupied the position of the richest man in the world for many years before he was overtaken by Carlos Slim.
The Mexican telecommunications mogul has seen his net worth drop by about $2 billion so far in 2013. Gates, however, is now worth $72.7 billion, just ahead of Slim and his personal wealth of $72.1 billion.
Along with the rising stock price of Microsoft, which actually reached a five year high at closing yesterday, Gates also had good fortunes with the stock he owns in several other companies, most of which have seen their share prices go up this year.
These include the Canadian National Railway Co., and waste collection company Republic Services.
Gates’ net worth has increased by $10 billion so far in the year, and he has promised to give away the absolute majority of his money away to charity through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
And in case you are wondering, Warren Buffet is currently the third richest man in the world with a net worth of $59.7 billion according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. Amancio Ortega, the richest man in Europe is fourth in the list with $56 billion.
Google co-founders are still a few league behind Bill Gates — Larry Page and Sergey Brin have both increased their net worth by 22 percent each, reaching positions 18 and 19 respectively in the list.
