Bill Gates is getting richer and richer.
The Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder’s estimated net worth hit a record high of $90 billion on Friday after his holdings in Canadian National Railway Company and Ecolab rose in value, Bloombergreports based on its Billionaires Index. This is the first time Gates’ wealth has reached $90 billion, though he came close to reaching that threshold earlier this year.
Gates is by far the world’s wealthiest person. His net worth includes both cash and stock in several companies including, of course, Microsoft. Although occasionally surpassed as the world’s wealthiest individual in recent years by the likes of Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, Gates has held strong this year.
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In fact, Gates’ wealth has grown substantially in 2016, according to Bloomberg. At the beginning of the year, his net worth was around $75 billion. Since then, he has added about $15 billion. The world’s second-wealthiest individual, Spanish retail executive Amancio Ortega, is worth more than $76 billion, which means that Gates holds a comfortable lead.
Still, it’s not all about the money for Gates, who is one of the most philanthropic billionaires by donating huge sums of money over the years through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He has also championed several causes, including clean water and eradicating malaria in areas like Africa.
Gates, along with fellow billionaire Warren Buffett, has also established The Giving Pledge, which involves wealthy individuals promising to give away at least half of their net worth either while living or at their death. Gates, along with his wife Melinda, says he will donate “the vast majority” of their wealth to causes both during their lifetimes and after. Ultimately, they hope, along with other billionaires, to eradicate diseases and help humanity.
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Regardless, Gates’ wealth is steadily rising. In 2012, for example, he was worth less than $60 billion.