Microsoft co-founder and current chairman Bill Gates, currently worth an estimated US$50 billion, has said he does not want to be the world’s richest man.
“Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates told an online advertising conference Wednesday that he’d prefer not to be the richest person in the world. ‘I wish I wasn’t,’ he said in a session in which he was being interviewed by Donny Deutsch, the host of an interview show on CNBC,” Allison Linn reports for The Associated Press. “‘There’s nothing good that comes out of that,’ he said. ‘You get more visibility as a result of it.'”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mike K” for the heads up.]
MacDailyNews Take: At the rate Microsoft’s going lately, Bill’s about to have his wish granted sooner than later.
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I’ll take a couple mil, Bill, if you please!
Gosh, I’ll take some of the problem off your hands Bill.
yeah – ill help you out!
How about passing some of it along to the many companies you trampled with illegal business practices along the way? And the people who lost money and jobs in the process. Corel comes to mind, among many others.
If you get a bunch of money through illegal means and give a percentage to charity that looks impressive, are you a great man? Or are you a thief and cheat who gave away some of the money that you cheated and stole from others?
I think helping Bill dispose of his problem is a Microsoft initiative I could actually get on board with!
The Vista development team are doing their bit to help Bill fulfill his dream…
Cheers,
Tim.
Poor Bill. Filthy rich, morally bankrupt Bill.
I echo what StW said.
To MDN,
You are welcome for the link. Remember, I sent this article to you about three days ago.
Mike K
sorry…As big of a Mac lover Micro$oft disliker I am…I say he’s got a point. props to Billy for saying what’s on his mind, he had to know there’d be backlash.
Hey Bill…Give it back to the shareholders then. Or better yet, give it to the thousands of employees you laid off when you shipped their jobs over to India! Geez, what a putz this guy is.
#2 or #3. You have to really respect that.
Now I like him AND Microsoft even more!
I want to use Windows forever just to support this wonderful man!
But he doesn’t want to be so rich, so I guess I better not. I will stay switched to Mac, for Bill’s sake.
Please people, won’t you think of the bills!
you know this is funny. when you already became a rich man, you have time to look back. now he wish he wants not to be so rich man? when you go up to this level, you can think about anything because you have power. but what about not being rich? will you think about the same thing like getting out of this situation? I think that he just says without no point. well, I can say anyting, too if I were in the same situation.
A billion or two sent my way will make you feel much better Billy Boy.
Just do it.
I’ll certainly give him my bank account routing number. I’m more than willing to help his cause.
Those of you offering to help Bill by taking a few million are really not trying to help him. You are just wanting some of his money. But taking a few million from him won’t knock him from the top spot and you know it. You are no help to him. I, on the other hand, will offer to take $20billion from him. That should knock him from the top spot. He can clearly see that I am here to help him, not just to get free money.
JvW
#2 or #3. You have to really respect that.
What is it, something like 6-8 of the top ten richest are from Wal-Mart and MS.
I don’t respect either company.
Whether you like Microsoft or not, Bill Gates’ humanitarian efforts are noble.
He’s given multi-millions of dollars to many worthwhile causes.
I’m sorry, but this comment from Bill Gates sounds more than a little disingenuous. It sounds like he is trying to “act all cool and hip by showing that he’s not materialistic and all that.”
What a joke. Has he taken a look at the monstrosity of architecture that is his house? The fact of the matter is, if he really didn’t want to be the richest guy in the world, he can perfectly choose not to be!.
Instead, he goes about and acts like it’s some kind of unavoidable genetic affliction, like being the crown prince of England.
Hello, Bill Gates! Wealth is not genetic! If you really don’t want to be the richest guy in the world, give away enough of your Microsoft stock and let Warren Buffet slide to the top! But don’t go around subjecting any of us to your sad schtick about somehow being “cursed” with the wealth, as if it was something that just happened to you.
You’ve given away billions to charity at the prodding of your wife, but apparently did the calculations to make sure you don’t give away enough to insure you stay in the #1 rich spot, so stop with the fake “Don’t hate me because I’m the richest guy in the world” lammo sympathy grub.
Lammo.
but I don’t want to be the world’s richest man! waaaaaaaahhhh! shutup, bee-atch!
You’ve given away billions to charity at the prodding of your wife, but apparently did the calculations to make sure you don’t give away enough to insure you stay in the #1 rich spot, so stop with the fake “Don’t hate me because I’m the richest guy in the world” lammo sympathy grub.
—
Tax Deductable. Look it up.
If he doesn’t want it, just give it to me.
I can think of a few billion ways to spend it.
: )
Aw. Poor Bill. I can imagine. It must really suck to be worth 50 billion and have all that attention, as opposed to being worth 50 dollars and wasting away with no health care, no dental care, no social life, and no home. Poor Bill.
I’ve got a solution, Bill. Give more money away. A sane person who wants to take care of himself and his family and his descendants for 10 generations really only needs 100 million. So that means you can give away 49 billion, 900 million dollars and still be set. Get to work.
Bill, if you don’t want to be the world’s richest man, you can give me a few billion dollars.
http://getkickedoffaplanewearingthis.blogspot.com/
Bill knows what non of you do: That money doesn’t matter – making bad OSes and forcing people to buy them is what really counts. And I think history is proving him right.