BILL GATES – WORLD’S MOST RESPECTED PHILANTHROPIST

When you have the kind of money that Bill Gates has, it is easy to carry out namesake philanthropy, to some charities in front of paparazzi. And for sure no one would doubt his intentions, thanks to his monetary power. It could also be easy for him to continuously strive for being at the top, to be the richest billionaire as long as he lived. But what’s tougher is to share what you have, share it with people who aren’t even aware of the meaning of the word ‘future’, because all they have seen around them is a disease, hunger, family, and friends dying left, right and center with no one to explain why or even what is happening to them and around them! Bill Gates is no less than the messiah for millions of people.

And now, he has decided to step down as a board member of his own company as well as of one of the most profitable company in the history, Berkshire Hathaway to focus and work even more for continuing and growing the work of his foundation, "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation". 

Let’s look at how this move makes the difference.

     1)  Role of Microsoft and Bill Gates in the tech world

No one in their right mind would try to belittle Microsoft and Bill Gates’ contribution to the technology we use at present. Its products such as Windows OS has the biggest market share of more than 78%, Office 365 suite with 2^nd largest market share of around 43% as well as XBOX which entered in the market dominated by Sony’s PlayStation has managed to carve out a market share of around 36%, it is quite evident that Microsoft products have a great impact on our choices as well as lifestyle.

Gates foresight for Microsoft was personal computing for all common people, a mission which he successfully completed by the early to mid-2000s. It could be very well argued that Gates’ Microsoft paved the way for what technology is today. Without access to personal computing, dotcom could have been used just by big companies, Facebook or Instagram or Twitter would never have been founded.

     
2) The gradual move towards Philanthropy

If you went a few hundred pages back in history of Bill Gates life, many will be surprised to know that this very man, whom the USA considers as one the greatest Americans, was taken to court by their very own U.S. government over illegally maintaining a monopoly in the market. He eventually lost the case which also led to Microsoft shares plunging drastically, even reaching a paltry 15.28 USD in 2009. It only recovered recently in 2015. So from being criticized for anti-business practices to being a philanthropist, he and his mission changed him and the world we live in drastically.

In 2000, he stepped down as the CEO passing the CEO chair to Steve Ballmer to focus on the new foundation. He and his wife, Melinda Gates established, ‘The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’, which since the very beginning focused their work on health, sanitation, social and educational developments around the world. Since 2000, he was the Chief Software Architect, which he again retired from in 2008, to focus more on his foundation works. Later in 2014, he passed on his Chairman position to John W. Thompson.

And eventually last week, he stepped down from the Board of Directors to focus solely on his foundation works.

     
3)  Flawless succession in the top tech giant

The above point shows how Bill Gates not only delved deeper into his pockets and into philanthropy, he made sure that his creation, Microsoft was taken care of just like a father ensures the safety and prosperity of his child.

The Gucci feud is a classic example of how if the next generation has conflicting ambitions, it could lead to crumbling of the whole empire.

     
4) Why this move is much needed

Taking in the current global scenario where the entire global climate is ruining resulting in incidents like fire in the Amazonian rainforest and the Australian bushfires, there is need for much more focus on climate change, better sanitation, health as well as education. This is exactly where Bill and his foundation comes in. Along with bringing the focus to these much-ignored sectors, he has managed to financially contribute to many organizations working towards the betterment of the poor and the sufferers.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has committed funding of more than $50 billion until 2019. This fund was used for various measures ranging from and not limited to disease control, health care R&D, agricultural R&D to basic nutrition and sanitation.

Gates’ stepping down from the board of Microsoft feels like an end of an era of Microsoft though he will be continue to retain his Technical Advisor position to CEO Satya Nadella, a position created just for Gates at the insistence of Nadella. Also recently, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a 125 Million USD to speed up the efforts to find the vaccine for COVID-19.

Author: Preeti Tomer