They don’t make them like Bill Gates anymore.
The charismatic head of Microsoft signed off from the company on the fateful evening of June 27, 2008. Since then he has shifted his attention to charity on a full-time basis with a promise to eventually give away 95% of his wealth for the good of humanity.
He still has a part-time role at the Redmond company and plans to keep it, but the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation would remain his main focus. Talking to Neil Tweedie of The Telegraph, Gates shared his thoughts on the future:
“My full-time work for the rest of my life will be at the foundation. I still work part-time for Microsoft. I’ve had two careers and I’m lucky that both of them have been quite amazing.
I loved my Microsoft: it prepared me for what I’m doing now. In the same way that I got to see the PC and internet revolutions, now I see child death rates coming down. I work very long hours and try to learn as much as I can about these things, but that’s because I enjoy it.”
In his quest to completely eradicate polio from the world, Gates said that his foundation will invest $1.8 billion in the next six years.
Forbes listed Bill Gates as the second richest man in the world with a net worth of $61 billion, and even placed him on the fourth position in “The World’s Most Powerful People” list, right after Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and jolly old Vladimir Putin.
Nevertheless, with the untimely passing of Steve Jobs, Gates remains perhaps the most recognizable and respected faces of technology. While his return as the face of Microsoft (even in a limited capacity at product launches) could do wonders for the company, chances of this happening are slim.
What do you think of this? Would you like to see this relic of computing technology deliver keynote speeches again? Or do you reckon his time in the spotlight is over, and the technology world ought to move forward. Sound off in the comments section below.
All Comments
I really want Bill Gates back at Microsoft full time. I miss his amazing speeches. I do love what he’s doing for his charity though. However, he could just donate the money, and let other people do the work, while he goes back to Microsoft.
Totally agreed. 🙂 Even if he can spare two weeks an year for important product launches I will be happy. Microsoft is now a hardware company as well, and while the current leadership is doing an okay job, Gates is, was and will always be special.
Like I said, with the passing of Jobs, very few technology relics remain. And Bill Gates was the very face of computing from 70s to 90s and even through the 2000s. The world needs small doses of his technical genius, every once in a while.
His vision about Technology and Microsoft is unmatched.
When the question comes of comparing Gates and Jobs- My answer is two unmatchable things cannot be compared!!!!!!!!!!!!!!