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In a September 19, 2003, InfoWorld report on Forbes’ ranking of the 400 wealthiest Americans, Bill Gates was listed with an estimated net worth of $46 billion. The headline’s claim that he was “still” the world’s richest man is historical—not a description of his current rank.
What the 2003 headline referred to
Scarlet Pruitt’s InfoWorld article covered Forbes’ annual Forbes 400 list, which ranks wealthy U.S. citizens. Although the headline said “world’s richest man,” the list discussed in the report was not a ranking of every billionaire worldwide. Forbes’ estimate put Gates at $46 billion, up $3 billion from the $43 billion attributed to the 2002 list. Those figures were estimates of net worth, not audited cash holdings. InfoWorld’s September 19, 2003 report.
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Other fortunes in that report
The same report listed Warren Buffett at an estimated $36 billion and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen at $22 billion. These are contemporaneous Forbes estimates as reported by InfoWorld, not present-day values.
Was Gates consistently No. 1?
No. A 2024 Forbes Australia retrospective says Gates was ranked the world’s richest person from 1995 through 2017, with exceptions in 2008 and from 2010 through 2013. That history makes the 2003 headline plausible for its moment, but “still” should not be read as uninterrupted leadership. Forbes Australia’s 2024 retrospective.
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For an earlier point of comparison, an Associated Press report carried by CBS News said Forbes’ 2000 ranking estimated Gates’ wealth at $60 billion and Larry Ellison’s at $47 billion. It also reported that the ranking counted 482 billionaires. Those are figures for the 2000 edition and should not be compared as if they shared the 2003 list’s valuation date. Associated Press report published by CBS News in 2000.
What a later Forbes snapshot says
A Forbes profile snapshot dated September 11, 2026, estimated Gates’ net worth at $114.8 billion and placed him No. 17 worldwide. That is a dated real-time profile snapshot, not a verified October 8, 2026, ranking. It is also a global ranking, unlike the Forbes 400 list discussed in the 2003 report. Forbes’ Bill Gates profile.
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Forbes’ profile identifies Gates as a Microsoft co-founder, says he donated Microsoft shares worth billions to the trust funding the Gates Foundation in 2022, and estimates that he owns less than 1 percent of Microsoft. These details describe selected aspects of his holdings; they are not a complete breakdown of his estimated net worth.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why Gates’ estimated wealth changed
In its 2003 coverage, InfoWorld said Forbes editors pointed to Microsoft’s then-reported hold on 94 percent of desktop computers and the company’s diversification efforts as factors behind Gates’ wealth. That 94 percent figure was reported in 2003 and is not a current market-share statistic.
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InfoWorld also relayed Forbes’ description of Gates selling 20 million Microsoft shares per quarter and reinvesting the proceeds as “methodically diversifying.” This was a description of the activity at that time, not evidence of a current schedule. Together, these details help explain why a net-worth ranking is not simply a count of company shares or cash: estimates can reflect multiple assets and liabilities, and they belong to a particular valuation date.
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How to read the headline today
- Keep the date attached: “still the world’s richest man” describes the 2003 report, not an enduring or current status.
- Check the ranking’s scope: the Forbes 400 covers wealthy U.S. citizens; a worldwide billionaire ranking has a broader pool.
- Distinguish estimate from cash: the reported $46 billion was an estimated net worth, not money held in cash.
- Compare like with like: annual list estimates and dated real-time profile snapshots come from different ranking formats and dates.
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