Just how rich can Bill Gates get? 
 
 According to a new analysis by CNBC 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. Since 2009, the average net worth of ultra-rich individuals has grown at 11 percent per year since 2009, according to Oxfam. 
 
 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) 
 
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 Of course, Bill Gates wouldn’t be the world’s first-ever trillionaire, as historians have estimated 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 he could beat Gates to the mark. 
 
 Still, it would be a good list to join. ||||| Richard and Joan Branson Stuff really is not what brings happiness. Family, friends, good health and the satisfaction that comes from making a positive difference are what really matters. Happily our children, who will be our principal heirs, agree with me on this. As and when we take monies out of the Virgin Group of companies the majority of it will be invested in entrepreneurial approaches to help make a difference in the world. We want the value created by the Virgin Group to be used to invest in new collaborative approaches to addressing issues, where business, governments and not-for-profits join forces to create a healthy, equitable and peaceful world for future generations to enjoy. We started by trying to give a voice to the young people of the 1960s and hope our Giving pledge will help many generations to come. We look forward to working with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett in expanding the number of people who are part of this pledge outside America. ||||| These 8 billionaires own same wealth as half the world's poorest 2:57 PM ET Tue, 17 Jan 2017 | 00:47 
 
 Eight billionaires from around the globe have as much money as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world's population, according to a report published by Oxfam on Monday. 
 
 The report is timely as the global political and business elite gather in snow-clad Davos for the annual World Economic Forum's annual meeting which aims to look at responsive and responsible leadership this year. 
 
 The report, "An Economy for the 99 percent", highlights the gap between rich and poor is far greater than had been feared. 
 
 "In 2015 the world's richest one percent retained their share of global wealth and still own more than the other 99 percent combined. This concentration of wealth at the top is holding back the fight to end global poverty," the report found. 
 
 The eight billionaires mentioned in the report, according to the Forbes billionaires list published in March 2016, are veteran investor Warren Buffett, Microsoft's Bill Gates, Inditex founder Amancio Ortega, Mexico's Carlos Slim, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Oracle's Larry Ellison and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
– Eight billionaires on Earth boast as much money as the world's 3.6 billion poorest people—and one of those eight wealth-wielders has a good shot at ascending to the next level. CNBC reports that Bill Gates is on pace to become the planet's first trillionaire within the next quarter-century. This prediction is based on the latest Oxfam report, "An Economy for the 99%," which took Gates' current worth ($84 billion or so, per Forbes) and number-crunched it using the average rate growth for the super-rich, which has been around 11% a year for the past eight years. Using that formula, the 61-year-old Microsoft co-founder would top the trillion mark right around his 86th birthday. "In such an environment, if you are already rich, you have to try hard not to keep getting a lot richer," Oxfam says. Gates has accumulated nearly $35 billion since he said goodbye to Microsoft in 2006, and that's even with him doing whatever he can to dump his stash, both through his own foundation and via his participation in the Giving Pledge, an elite gathering of the richest folks in the world promising to dump the bulk of their wealth into philanthropic efforts. Other billionaires Oxfam looked at could also join the trillionaires club going by that same rate, though it will take awhile longer: Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, now 32, could hit that benchmark when he's 59, for example. Warren Buffett could get there in 25 years, but he's already 86 and would have to live to 111, per Money. (We call Bill Gates as our Secret Santa when he hits the big time.)