Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates could become the world’s first ever ‘trillionaire’. AP/Nati Harnik
As the world’s richest man, Bill Gates exponentially grows his net worth each passing day, and according to a recent study, he’ll most likely become the first ever trillionaire in the next 25 years.
As pointed out in an Oxfam International report entitled “An Economy for the 99%”, the Microsoft founder’s wealth has grown at a staggering 11 percent clip per year since 2009, and has shown no signs of slowing down.
With his net worth at $78.7 billion, as modestly estimated by Forbes as of August 2016, the 61-year-old tech wizard is projected to reach the unimaginable trillionaire status by the time he is 86 years old.
By the time he left Microsoft in 2006, Gates’ net worth was at $50 billion and has grown at an astonishing rate over the last decade.
His meteoric rise money-wise comes “despite his commendable attempts to give it away through his Foundation,” the report said.
In addition to the charitable work he does through his personal foundation, the tech innovator has also devoted his time and resources to eradicating infectious diseases and improving education around the world.
A recent estimate says he has donated over $28 billion through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In addition, Gates is a founding member of The Giving Pledge, a group composed of some of the richest individuals in the world who pledge to give away more than half of their worth.
What’s even more absurd is the fact that since no one has reached such status yet, the word ‘trillionaire’ is not even recognized in the dictionary as an official word.
“In such an environment, if you are already rich, you have to try hard not to keep getting a lot richer,” Oxfam noted in a Business Insider report.
“The super-rich can achieve returns that are not available to the ordinary saver, helping the gap to grow between the wealthy and everyone else,” the report stated. “The bigger the initial investment, the higher returns one can make as the initial costs of sophisticated advice and high-risk investments can be justified with the potential for super-lucrative returns.”
In a separate report last week, Oxfam revealed names of eight billionaires—including Gates—who have more money than the poorest half of the world’s population.
READ: 8 men as rich as half of the world
The list includes business magnate Warren Buffett, Inditex founder Amancio Ortega, Mexican investor Carlos Slim, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and Oracle’s Larry Ellison. Khristian Ibarrola