News

Gates Doesn't Like Being World's Richest Man

Most people probably dream of being the world's richest person -- except, perhaps, the man himself.

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 television.

Gates is ranked by Forbes magazine as the world's richest individual, with an estimated wealth of about $50 billion (euro39.61 billion).

"There's nothing good that comes out of that," he said. "You get more visibility as a result of it."

Gates is doing his part to share the wealth. His Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the world's largest philanthropy, with an endowment of $29.1 billion (euro23.05 billion). He was not asked about giving away more money sooner.

Still, Gates said he can go out and do everyday things like other people, despite his wealth and celebrity.

"I'm not bothered when I'm out in public or anything," he said. "Someone might ask for a signature, rarely, but that's not a difficult thing."

And the Microsoft Corp. chairman expressed a kinship for at least one other person in his exclusive club, saying during the session that investor Warren Buffett -- ranked by Forbes as the world's second-wealthiest -- is the person he's learned the most from.

Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has an estimated wealth of $42 billion (euro33.28 billion).

Gates also said he wouldn't follow in the footsteps of other wealthy Americans by entering politics.

"I certainly will never be a politician," he said. Asked why not, he said: "For every reason. I wouldn't like it, I wouldn't be elected. I'm better at what I'm doing."

Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.