Bill Gates Money Manager Michael Larson's Net Worth Could Be a Highlight Amid Controversy

Following the divorce of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, their money manager has come under some serious scrutiny. Larson is the center of numerous claims, ranging from sexism to racism. As an asset investor solely dedicated to the Gates operation, Larson's own net worth is under fire, too.

With a high-profile job adjacent to a billionaire duo, Larson gets a sliver of the Bill and Melinda Gates investments.

Micheal Larson is the money manager at a firm called Cascade Investments, a company whose only job is to manage the wealth of Gates and French Gates (Cascade is also referred to as Bill and Melinda Gates Investments, of BMGI). The two, now divorced, are worth a combined $124 billion. 

Of course, a hefty sum has been spent on the divorce and a large portion of wealth gets sent to the philanthropic Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Regardless, it's a sizable fortune to manage for one of the world's wealthiest people.

Despite the divorce, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is staying intact. The foundation's future may or may not include Larson, depending on the outcome of the claims.

Larson reportedly showed nude photographs of women to members of Cascade Investments staff (there are about 100 people working for him who have been asked to sign non-disclosure agreements as a term of their employment). Additionally, claims have come forth of sexist and racist comments that Larson made.

A spokesperson for Cascade said there have been less than five complaints against Larson out of 380 people he's managed. According to Cascade, this is a low ratio. However, the severity of these claims and the consideration that many may not have come forward are food for thought.

It's unclear what percentage Larson gets out of managing a fortune worth more than $100 billion. Even a small fraction of a percentage would be enough to make Larson a rich man. Recently, Gates' equity has been shifted around (for example, the foundation just sold all of their Apple and Twitter stocks).

Larson's net worth is projected to be in the millions, though it's unclear where the number lies. He started working for Gates in 1994, just one year after Gates let go a man named Andrew L. Evans.

Evans was involved in bank fraud and even served a stint in jail, where Gates visited him. So far, Gates seems to be backing Larson, too—though the same cannot be said for French Gates, who sticks with the fact she was unaware of the claims against Larson and would not approve of them.