Bill Gates owns approximately 4 percent of Microsoft as of 2014. It is believed that his ownership in Microsoft is worth more than $13 billion. Gates is one of the wealthiest people in the world and spends a significant amount of his money on philanthropic endeavors.
Bill Gates founded Microsoft in 1975 and worked closely with partners and cofounders Steve Ballmer and Paul Allen. Gates was the largest shareholder in the company until April 2014, when he sold more than 4 million of his shares. This left Gates with more than 300 million shares. Ballmer became the largest shareholder of Microsoft stock upon the sale of Gates' shares.
