If Bill Gates had never given up on his Microsoft stock or engaged in philanthropy at the scale he did, he would be much richer than Elon Musk. By retaining his original stake, Gates would have become the world's first trillionaire, with a fortune of more than $1.2 trillion. In the mid-1980s, Gates owned 49% of Microsoft. This amounted to approximately 11.2 million shares. According to Forbes, that stake would be worth $1.4 trillion in the present day. Dividends would have further added $100 billion in after-tax cash. Combined, Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, would have been worth $1.5 trillion—ranking them much ahead of every billionaire on the planet. However, Gates gradually sold off his Microsoft holdings over the years. Today, he owns 0.9% of the company, which is valued at around $28 billion. His wealth is now distributed across companies such as Republic Services, Deere & Co, and Four Seasons Hotels via his Cascade Investments office. French Gates, who kept a por...