Bill Gates could become the world’s first trillionaire

TEXAS: Microsoft founder Bill Gates may become world’s first trillionaire by the year 2042, according to a new research.

According to research firm Oxfam International, the world would get its first trillionaire in the next 25 years, when Bill Gates becomes around 86 years old.

A report by Oxfam International said that considering that Bill Gates’s fortune is growing at 11 per cent per year since 2009, he could become the world’s first trillionaire soon.

When Gates left Microsoft in 2006, his net worth was $50 billion, according to Oxfam. By 2016, his wealth had increased to $75 billion, “despite his commendable attempts to give it away through his Foundation,” the report said.

In addition to the charitable work Gates does through his personal foundation, he is one of the founding members of The Giving Pledge, a commitment from some of the richest individuals in the world to give away more than half of their worth.

For the hypothetical analysis, Oxfam researchers applied the rate of growth he has been enjoying, 11 per cent per year since 2009, to Gates’ current levels of wealth (over USD 84 billion, according to Forbes).

“In such an environment, if you are already rich, you have to try hard not to keep getting a lot richer,” Oxfam noted. Another report by Oxfam had found that eight billionaires, including Bill Gates, from around the globe have as much money as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world’s population.