Posted by EastCoastStar
Has anyone heard about this yet?
He is going to spend more time doing "charity work" he says.
Posted by Jools
Is this to try to make up for all the pain and suffering he's inflicted on millions throughout the world with his products?
Posted by BobaFett
imo he ll work on an "apple ranch" or start a campaign for pinguins ;-)
Posted by EastCoastStar
hahahahaha to both
Posted by mrao
Posted by EastCoastStar
story from AOL NEWS (becuase im on AOL)
REDMOND, Washington (June 15) - Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Thursday he will gradually give up his day-to-day duties at the company to concentrate on the charitable work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates, 50, will continue as the company's chairman after transferring his duties over a two-year period.
"This was a hard decision for me," said Gates, who founded the world's largest software company with childhood friend Paul Allen. "I'm very lucky to have two passions that I feel are so important and so challenging. As I prepare for this change, I firmly believe the road ahead for Microsoft is as bright as ever."
Microsoft Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie will immediately assume Gates' title as chief software architect and begin working with Gates on overseeing all software technical design.
Chief Technical Officer Craig Mundie will immediately take the new title of chief research and strategy officer and will work with Gates in those areas. Mundie also will partner with general counsel Brad Smith to guide Microsoft's intellectual property and technology policy efforts.
Gates is ranked by Forbes magazine as the world's richest man, with an estimated wealth of about $50 billion. That great wealth, he said, also brings great responsibility, and he repeated his often-spoken desire to give away the bulk of his fortune to charity. The Gates Foundation focuses on education and global health needs.
"Just as Microsoft has taken off in ways I never expected, so has the work of the foundation," he said.
In January 2000, Gates assumed the role of chief software architect and Steve Ballmer took over the role of chief executive officer. Ballmer remains responsible for all day-to-day operations and the company's business strategy.
The world "has had a tendency to focus a disproportionate amount of attention on me," Gates said, when in reality, Microsoft is a company with an extraordinary depth and breadth of talent.
"Our leadership team has never been stronger," he said.
"Bill and I are confident we've got a great team that can step up to fill his shoes and drive Microsoft innovation forward without missing a beat," Ballmer said.
Gates and Allen started Microsoft in 1975. He took Microsoft public in 1986 and was the company's chairman and CEO until 2000. That year, he and his wife formed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, whose assets now total $29.1 billion.
For the past six years Gates has focused on Microsoft's software development as the company's chairman and chief software architect.
Ozzie, 50, worked on the first electronic spreadsheet, VisiCalc, in the early 1980s. In 1983, he joined Lotus Development Corp. - Microsoft's archrival at the time - to develop Lotus Symphony, a business software suite.
He later founded Groove Networks, where he developed Groove Virtual Office. Microsoft acquired Groove Networks in April 2005 and named Ozzie chief technical officer.
Mundie, 56, joined Microsoft in 1992 to create and run its Consumer Platforms Division, which was responsible for non-personal computer software. Mundie also started Microsoft's digital TV efforts. His current responsibilities include global technology policy and a variety of technical and business incubation efforts.
Ozzie and Mundie will continue to report to Gates. At an unspecified time during the two-year transition period, they will shift to reporting to Ballmer.
The news was announced after financial markets closed. Earlier, shares in Microsoft rose 19 cents, or 0.87 percent, to close Thursday at $22.07 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Shares lost 11 cents in after-hours trading.
Posted by BobaFett
just hitted my mind. bill and melinda could donate windows for the whole world!
Posted by EastCoastStar
hahah yea right boba! then they wouldnt make money! they will still be makin plentyyyy of money haha.
Posted by BobaFett
just wondering, where will bill and linda live? at "home" or in the charity "office"? poor both, the only clothes size they know, is the "xp"...
Posted by EastCoastStar
hahaha yea!
i wonder if they are gonna stay in the same place.
what does bill gates do everyday though? he doesnt fix problems, he has people do that crap for him.
and, thats why the new windows is called windows VISTA... like old arnold used to say... "astalaVISTA baby"... haha
[ This Message was edited by: eastcoaststar on 2006-06-16 00:47 ]
Posted by *Jojo*
Being the richest man in the world . . . he won't be needed in the office anymore . . . just signing papers I guess . . . his money will not deplete no matter what he does, as just the interest it is incurring in the banks keeps on piling up . . . he will be a trillionaire in a few year's time . . . .
Posted by fatreg
i think he should give everyone in the world £1m, the let us all live in harmony...
fatreg
Posted by leeboy13
fatreg, if you ever run for office let me know, with taht kind of talk you'll get my vote 
Posted by methylated_spirit
Wonder if he'll get a pension
Posted by fatreg
no pension for him but i cant imagine his royalties will run for a while...
fatreg
Posted by p900 lover
How much is microsoft worth? and what % does bill own?
Posted by fatreg
worth too much and doesnt he own 100% of it and i dont ever remember m$ floating on the market...
fatreg
Posted by p900 lover
In that case cant he just sell it and make £900 bilion bilion or sumthing silly like that
Posted by masseur
microsoft is a listed company, here you can see recent prices for the stock
Bill gates owns around 1 billion shares which amounts to around 15% or so of the company
based on that, his net worth is around $US 50 billion
here you can see his person wealth clock!
Posted by fatreg
ermm yeah however, who is going to buy it?
he is the richest man in the world and im guessing with that he is the biggest business in the world..
no one has enough to buy it..
fatreg
Posted by p900 lover
Im sure if a few business men from the arab world got together they could buy it. Not sure if they would want to tho lol
Posted by fatreg
learn something new everyday.
ahh finally i can see france telecoms share prices outside of work....
good ol yahoo..
fatreg