Whether Gates owns Microsoft stock is of little relevance to either Gates or Microsoft. He's clearly not selling because he needs the money; he's selling becaus

Whether Gates owns Microsoft stock is of little relevance to either Gates or Microsoft. He's clearly not selling because he needs the money; he's selling because eventually he (or indeed his philanthropic foundation) will have more use for cash than MSFT shares. As the article says, he is selling the stock progressively. I know very little about stock market strategy, but presumably this is the most effective way to divest without flooding the market, shocking the market, sending signals, prompting investigations of financial impropriety, etc.