---
title: Think Bill Gates Is Rich Now? Here's How He Could Become a Trillionaire
description: '"If you are already rich, you have to try hard not to keep getting a lot richer."'
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published: '2017-02-02T15:35:38.000Z'
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![Bill Gates](https://img.money.com/2017/02/170202_em_billgates.jpg)

Just how rich can Bill Gates get?

According to a new analysis [by CNBC](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/23/bill-gates-could-become-the-worlds-first-trillionaire.html) using data from Oxfam, the Microsoft founder could become America's first-ever trillionaire.

That's 12 zeroes.

Gates, 61, is currently worth more than $84 billion, [according to Forbes](http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/list/#version:realtime). Since 2009, the average net worth of ultra-rich individuals has grown at 11 percent per year since 2009, [according to Oxfam](https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/file_attachments/bp-economy-for-99-percent-160117-en.pdf).

If this rate stays constant, by age 86, Gates will have surpassed the $1,000,000,000,000 mark.

In the current environment, Oxfam says, "If you are already rich, you have to try hard not to keep getting a lot richer."

Here's the age at which the other top 5 world billionaires could become trillionaires at Oxfam's 11% average rate.

-   Warren Buffett: 111 (current net worth $73 billion, current age 86)
-   Jeff Bezos: 78 (current net worth $72 billion, current age 53)
-   Amancio Ortega: 105 (current net worth $72 billion, current age 80)
-   Mark Zuckerberg: 59 (current net worth $56 billion, current age 32)

Of course, Bill Gates wouldn't be the world's first-ever trillionaire, as [historians have estimated](https://time.com/nextadvisor/) various historical figures to have amassed holdings worth well in excess of 12 figures. And no one really knows how much Vladimir Putin is worth, but [there are hints](https://money.com/vladimir-putin-net-worth/) he could beat Gates to the mark.

Still, it would be a good list to join.

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