Bill Gates' Net Worth Would Pay For A Fortune In Presents For Every British Citizen
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There's an old saying that if Microsoft founder Bill Gates ever dropped a $100 bill on the floor, he wouldn't need to pick it up again because in the time it'd take him to bend down and scoop it up he'd already have made far, far more than it was worth.
And while Gates may have been supplanted at the top of the top of the rich list in recent years by Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Louis Vuitton founder Bernard Arnault, the world's most powerful nerd still has a net worth of over $136.4 BILLION (£103bn).
It's an unfathomable amount of capital for any one person to have, and despite pledging to give most of it away through his philanthropic work at The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, his bank balance continues to get fatter year after year.
So the real question is - what does that mean for you and me?
Well, if Gates were to decide to empty his wallet this Christmas and share his entire net worth with the population of the UK, that would gift every single one of the 68 million citizens living in Britain with an additional £1,515 ($2,000), just in time for the Boxing Day sales.
That figure could net each Brit roughly 390 pints of beer, or 500 Cadbury's selection boxes, or 500 Lynx duo gift sets, or three PS5's.
With that amount of dough, you might want to invest in a bigger Christmas tree to fit all the presents under.
But while Gates has a fortune that the rest of us could barely even dream of, he's also revealed what he'd do if, for some reason, that wealth suddenly vanished one day.
In a blog post on his website, he hypothesized what he'd do if he ever found himself living on $2 a day.
He wrote: "There's no single right answer, of course, and poverty looks different in different places.
"But through my work with the foundation, I've met many people in poor countries who raise chickens, and I have learned a lot about the ins and outs of owning these birds. It's pretty clear to me that just about anyone who's living in extreme poverty is better off if they have chickens."
His main reasons? Chickens are cheap and easy to take care of. They're a worthwhile investment. Eating chickens - and their eggs - is good for your health, and most importantly, they generate income.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Microsoft, bill gates
