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POWER IN TECHNOLOGY: Bill Gates
Founder & Chairman of Microsoft / Founder and Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
By: Nicole Bruno

Bill Gates is a name that is associated with some of the most successful and innovative projects throughout the entire world. He paved the way for the personal computer revolution and rose above others in his industry as an iconic technologist, entrepreneur and above all, an incredible business leader of his generation. He set the bar in the software industry, contributed greatly to the rise of the PC, and has maintained a strong force on the internet as well. “My job at Microsoft was an opportunity for big breakthroughs—including changing computers from being expensive and only for big companies to being inexpensive and empowering to individuals with a wide range of great software for almost any task. I wanted a personal computer with great software for myself and everyone else,” explains Gates.

While no others have yet to claim all of those accomplishments, Gates has worked his way to the top with strong values of teamwork and teaching. “At Microsoft there are lots of brilliant ideas, but the image is that they all come from the top,” says Gates. “I'm afraid that's not quite right.” Gates enjoys being a role model and believes that inspiration is best used as a motivating factor for his employees. The motives behind his creations hold very special meaning to him. “I'm a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they're interested in,” says Gates. While he considers himself a very lucky man, his generosity has been spread to many other people around the world. In 2000, Gates stepped back from the helm of one of the world’s most powerful companies to steer his philanthropic Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, guided by the principle that every human life has equal value. “The Foundation’s staggering endowment over the next century is initially focused on improving high school education in the US and on improving health and reducing extreme poverty in developing countries. “Over 200 million people at any one time are suffering from malaria,” says Gates. “It means that you can’t get the economies in these areas going because it holds things back so much.” However, “If you go into a country with the right tools in the right way and you do it vigorously, you can actually get a local eradication.” Closer to home, the Foundation’s broad strategy is one of scholarships and investments in libraries and schools, but Gates also believes the key is to provide great teachers: “People are beginning to recognize how important this is. And it really can make a difference for millions of lives if we get it right.” While Gates has mastered the reinvention of technology, he now focuses on what he considers his next major goal in life—the reinvention of philanthropy.

“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.” –Bill gates

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