A founder, a fortune, and Microsoft’s final separation from the Bill Gates empire

For more than half a century, Microsoft and Bill Gates have been inseparable, first as co-founder and architect of one of the world’s most powerful technology companies, and later as a philanthropist whose foundation was deeply funded by the very firm he created.

That financial link has now fully ended.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust has sold its final 7.7 million shares of Microsoft Corporation in the first quarter of 2026, ending a gradual two-year exit that began with 28.5 million shares. The stake was valued at about $3.2 billion, according to filings reported by The Times of India.