Featured Image Credit: Craig Barritt/Stringer / Lighthouse Films / Getty
Did you know Bill Gates once had the chance to buy a Premier League football club?
A former holder of Forbes' title as the world’s richest man from 1995 to 2010, Gates has always been known for his philanthropy.
In 2022, Gates announced he planned to give away most of his wealth to his charitable foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, leaving his kids a relatively small inheritance. The Foundation is the second-largest charitable organisation in the world with an endowment of $70 billion.
Outside of work, Gates, with a current net worth of $107.3 billion, is no die-hard football fan in his spare time, however he has spoken highly of the sport.
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In a 2022 blog post, the Microsoft co-founder praised soccer and called himself a 'casual' fan of the sport.
"I understand why soccer has earned the nickname 'the beautiful game'," he wrote in the post. "What makes soccer even more beautiful is the positive impact it can have off the field."
Gates may prefer tennis and pickleball as his personal favourites but he clearly appreciates how football can help young people live healthier lives.
Back in 2010, Gates was approached about buying Liverpool FC when the club’s financial struggles forced then-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to sell.
However, the American billionaire decided against the decision to buy.
Barclays Capital was tasked with finding a potential buyer and eventually, Fenway Sports Group (then called New England Sports Ventures) purchased the club for £300 million in October 2010.
It turns out, though that Gates was one of the people approached during the worldwide search for the Reds' new ownership, according to documents from the commercial division of the New York County Supreme Court.
New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, who also owns MLS side New England Revolution, was also contacted in the search for new ownership, but declined.
Sir Martin Broughton, the then-Liverpool chairman, confirmed the 'attempt to contact Bill Gates and Bob Kraft in the U.S.'
In fact, Kraft was originally approached in 2005 and again in 2010, before Fenway Sports Group eventually bought the club.
Broughton added that the search for buyers spanned 'every continent' and involved 'contacts with people around the world.'
According to Forbes' 2024 list of the most valuable football teams, Liverpool is ranked fourth globally with a valuation of $5.37bn (£4.3bn).
If Gates had said yes, he might’ve been part of one of the greatest success stories in football history, but instead he's leaving his legacy on the world in a different way.
