Who is the world's richest person?

As of 2015, Bill Gates is the world's richest person, with a net worth of 79.2 billion dollars, according to Forbes. Bill Gates obtained his wealth from Microsoft, the company that he began in 1975, according to the company website.

Microsoft created software such as MS-DOS that helped him gain his current wealth, explains Microsoft. Time stated in 2014 that Bill Gates had held the spot of the richest man on the Forbes annual list 15 times in the preceding 20 years. Since he stepped down from the company operations of Microsoft in 2008, Gates has donated his money to charities and helping developing countries and their fights against diseases such as malaria, notes the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.