Gates to Leave Day-to-Day Role at Microsoft in 2008. Following the tradition of previous capitalists-turned-philanthropists such as J.P. Getty and Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates has announced that in 2008 he will quit his full-time role as head of Microsoft to focus his attention on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (whose website seems to be having issues at the moment). [NewsFilter]
posted by justkevin on Jun 15, 2006 - 87 comments

Bill Gates or Steve Jobs? Who is changing the world more for the better? Some people believe Bill Gates and Microsoft are the Spawn of Satan, while others praise him for his philanthropy. [subs. req'd] Steve Jobs has more buzz on the internets than Bill Gates and a near religious following for his products with Apple. One might not give like the other, but one definitely is much more Zen-like.
posted by Mijo Bijo on Jan 25, 2006 - 92 comments

Bill Gates' dad in NY Times Mag Q&A on bequests, estates, philanthropy and work ethic. (He's involved in administering his son's charity activities.) NY Times link, so free registration or your own personal backdoor required.
posted by jhiggy on Mar 21, 2001 - 1 comment

Is Bill Really that bad? Giving away money steadily, tens of millions of dollars at a time, Mr Bill Gates has become the single most influential force trying to reverse the growing health crisis afflicting the world's poor. With his wife, Melinda, he outspent the United States Government last year by nearly $US300 million ($538 million), to fight global health threats such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
posted by murray_kester on Dec 25, 2000 - 52 comments