Bill Gates didn’t do so well when Ellen DeGeneres quizzed him on her show about the prices of some common grocery store items.
The Microsoft founder and billionaire admitted it has been a long time since he's been to a supermarket, but he was a good sport and gave it a try.
The studio audience tried to help Gates with his answers, and DeGeneres promised the audience a prize if Gates could get within a dollar of three out of the five items.
Gates guessed a box of Rice-A-Roni cost $5 (actual cost was $1), Tide Pods cost $4 (actually $19.97) and that Totino’s pizza rolls cost $22 ($8.98). He thought TGI Fridays spinach and artichoke dip was $10 when it was really $3.66, but he hit the nail on the head when it came to dental floss, guessing $4, which was within $1 of the actual price of $3.78.
Gates told DeGeneres in his first appearance on the show that he doesn’t have “extravagant tastes,” although he said he does have some “indulgences,” like a Porshe, a private plane, and a trampoline room in his house.
Gates founded Microsoft in 1975, years before most Americans had computers in their homes, and is now worth an estimated $91 billion. Only Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is worth more at $123 billion.
DeGeneres praised Gates highly for his charitable work during his appearance on her show. Gates and his wife Melinda are some of the world’s biggest philanthropists through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and have committed to giving away half of their fortune through their lifetimes.
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