Bill Gates – more than just Microsoft June 28, 2008
Posted by Al in : computers,people , trackbackBill Gates steps down, officially, as head of Microsoft, ending 30 years of computing history. I’m sure that Steve Balmer and co will keep the company running as well as ever, and I’m equally sure that Microsoft’s market share will remain pretty much constant over the next 5 years. What is amazing though, and still far too few people realise this, is how much work and money Bill Gates does for his charitable foundation. Nobody else in the world gives as much money to charity as the gates family, although Warren Buffet is getting close with his donations to the Gates Foundation.
Very few millionaires, and even less billionaires, are willing to invest the same time and effort into giving away their money as they put into making it. Some, for example Ingvar Kamprad, the owner of Ikea, spend very little of their money and concentrate solely on making more money, or on driving their business forward. These people are obsessed with success and so have no time for anything else. What I like about Bill Gates is that he has spent his fortune on himself – he has an absolutely amazing house – and also on helping others. He has always split his money this way, and when he had all that he could possibly want then he, along with his wife, has invested a lot of effort and time into putting his money to good use.
What Bill Gates has done through Microsoft is remarkable – he has created a world where computers are commonplace and very usable – but what his gates Foundation will achieve, with its massive fortune, has yet to be seen. It is possible that his charity work will be more memorable than his 30 years at Microsoft. As described here, Bill Gates has effectively taxed every PC user in order to fund his philanthropy. I salute Bill Gates for having realised his dream and then having the strength to do some good around the world.
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