Microsoft's Major shareholder - 05-05-2014

For the first time in Microsoft's history, Bill Gates is no longer the company's largest individual shareholder, and in four years his ownership stake will likely vanish.

A stock sale by the software giant's former chief executive revealed in a regulatory filing last week reduced his holdings in the company to 330.1 million shares, putting him second behind fellow former CEO Steve Ballmer, who owns 333 millions shares, according to his most recent proxy statement. Ballmer retired in February with the announcement that Satya Nadella had been appointed the company's new CEO.