9:10 am
Reconsidering Bill Gates
Categories: General, Software, Microsoft, Tech Culture
A few days ago, the richest man in the world, Bill Gates, announced that he’d be stepping down from daily Microsoft activities in order to devote himself to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Through this foundation, Mr. Gates has said that he intends to give away 95 percent of his wealth. The foundation’s primary interests are education, poverty and global health–saving the lives of the millions who die of preventable diseases, mostly in poor countries.
Now, as faithful readers know, I don’t always find Microsoft’s software-design work very impressive. And, under Mr. Gates’s watch, Microsoft has done a lot of ruthless and sometimes sleazy things over the years. I’m not alone in having some mistrust of Microsoft’s motives; one Google search for “Microsoft + evil” will convince you of that.
But until last week’s announcement, I think I was in the same boat as a lot of people: I never really allowed myself to confront the apparent contradiction between Bill Gates, the merciless businessman with ambitions for world domination, and Bill Gates, the compassionate scientist whose goal is to save millions of lives.
A couple of years ago, Bill Moyers interviewed Mr. Gates on the subject of his global-health interests. You can read the transcript here, but here’s a sample that makes you realize the possibilities of putting money in the right places (this is Mr. Gates speaking):
“And there was one dinner after we’d given our first vaccination grant. I think it was $125 million. All these doctors came. And they thought, ‘O.K., this is a dinner where I’m supposed to just say thank you, thank you. And, you know, try not to use the wrong fork or something.’
“So they’re there, and you know, it’s a nice dinner. But after about 15 minutes, I say to them, ‘Yeah, well, you’ve thanked me enough. But what would you do if you had more money?’
“And they’re all kind of like, ‘Well, does he really mean that? Is he serious?’
I said, ‘Yeah, what if you had, you know, 10 times as much money? What would you do?’
“And then the guy who’s worked his whole life on Hepatitis B speaks up. And the guy who’s working on AIDS speaks up. And the guy who’s working on Immunocal speaks up. And so it started opening the door.’”
Not everyone is prepared to reconsider Mr. Gates. If the comments online are any indication, some people remain cynical about the timing of Mr. Gates’s exit; Microsoft is not exactly riding high these days. Its stock lately is the lowest it’s been in years. The next version of its flagship product, Windows Vista, has been repeatedly delayed and scaled down. Its attempts to extend its reach to other platforms–palmtops, phones, watches, music players–have created, at best, niche markets.
Some people won’t be happy no matter what Mr. Gates does. They say he made the decision for P.R. value, or even as a plot to boost Microsoft’s software sales. “Interesting theory: ‘Buy Windows Vista. Do It for the Children,’” writes one critic online. “Ah, Bill, you are a shrewd weasel indeed.”)
But despite all this, and even despite Microsoft’s history, I find it almost impossible to remain cynical about Bill Gates’s intentions. I think he’s changed. Maybe when you’re in your 50’s, you start to think about how you’ll be remembered.
It’d be one thing if he were retiring to enjoy his fortune, or if he were using it to buy football teams or political candidates. But he’s not. He’s channeling those billions to the places in the world where that money can do the most good. And not just throwing money at the problems, either–he’s also dedicating the second act of his life to making sure it’s done right.
In fact, when you step back far enough, Mr. Gates’s entire life arc suddenly looks like a 35-year game of Robin Hood, a gigantic wealth-redistribution system on a global scale.
I know this is going to earn me the vitriol of Microsoft-bashers, but I’ll say it anyway: Bill Gates has the money, the brains and the connections to really, truly make the world a better place. I admire him for the attempt. And I believe that if anyone can succeed, he will.
Link to ThisComments (97)

The previous 94 comments came as no surprise to me, knowing that we are dealing with NYT readers. No one seems to get the point: This world is totally militarized. TRILLIONS of dollars are whafting about the planet keeping the oil/gas cartel alive.

To be a real menshch, Gates would be on the free energy bandwagon. We must end the cycle of corporate greed if this planet is to survive.

There are many many people questioning the value of immunizations. Study after study discloses how very dangerous they can be. Melinda makes a startling case study of ignorant people with money can be. I am sure her heart “cares”, but her mind is really not clear on what is important! We need to focus on access to WATER first. It’s the most important thing on the global agenda. Even theCIA 2015 report mentions what is going to happen in the not too distant future. Why immunize a child who is going to die of THIRST …?

I so agree with post No. 6. It was expected for corporate monopolists to give away their exce$$ ca$h. Yet, for years and years (and billions of dollars) Gates totally ignored the call. We all learned about this in Civics 101 in high school, for heaven’s sakes. Where was the compassion? The monopoly capitalists in the US are just insane.

The pharmaceutical industrial complex is one the most pressing needs to be address, and it is being shoved under the radar. We are allowing the continuation of a drug infested society to destroy our young, and then give them seriously poisonous chemicals to “help” them, atypical antipsychotics are DANGEROUS and lead to pancreatitis, diabetes, dermatitis and a whole raft of so-called “side effects”. R&D seriously needs to be done. Where is GATES weighing in on the real health probelms of TODAY …?

We have a SEVERE societal problem with psychopathology, and many many people are discussing it. Gates surely makes a case study in having NO CONSCIENCE at all when it comes to helping out. Don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

The times .. they are achangin’ and it’s time people starting reading about the real issues facing humanity
.. the divide between the rich and the poor grows and the middle class is being undone (unless you work in the “defense” industries),
the oil/terrorist “crisis” needs to be seen for what it really is — a buncha pirates, crooks and liars — and new energy solutions found, and
our spiritual crisis needs to addressed pronto.

If Gates, with all his ca$h can’t figure out what is REALLY wrong, anything he or Melinda does is just a circus. A very sick one at that. We must believe that he CAN be changed so that we can all have hope for our children.

Comment by Virginia Simson — June 22, 2006 @ 6:42 pm