14 DAY TRIAL // 58 years ago today, Microsoft’s co-founder and chairman William Henry Gates III was born in Seattle, Washington to William H. Gates, Sr. and Mary Maxwell Gates.
Gates, who founded Microsoft on April 4, 1975 when he was only 20 years old, is currently the world’s richest man, with a net worth of $72 billion (€52.1 billion), according to Forbes data.
While we won’t talk about the way he brought his tech empire to life, it’s very important to mention that Bill Gates is currently considered the right person to head Microsoft, especially because CEO Steve Ballmer has already announced his decision to retire.
Gates indeed stepped down as chief executive officer of Microsoft in January 2000, but with Ballmer leaving within 12 months, everyone wants the co-founder back at the helm of the company.
Bill Gates has denied any intention to return to Microsoft with every single occasion, saying that he only wants to stick to his non-executive position and focus more on his charity efforts with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A new rumor, on the other hand, suggests that three top Microsoft shareholders want Bill Gates out of the company, especially because he’s currently the largest individual shareholders. According to this speculation, the shareholders in question believe that Gates could actually block the new CEO from adopting major changes at Microsoft, especially because the company needs to migrate more to devices and services.
Bill Gates hasn’t yet commented on these rumors, but that’s not surprising at all. Gates has always been a gentleman, so don’t expect him to step in and publicly slam down criticism.
As far as the CEO position is concerned, it appears that Melinda Gates, Bill’s wife, also wants her husband to stay out of Microsoft for the time being, especially because he’s involved in several other projects.
At this point, Bill Gates is the CEO of Cascade Investment, chairman of Corbis, and is said to be taking over stakes in a Spanish construction company as we speak.
Of course, everyone wants Gates back to Microsoft in the CEO role, but chances are that this will never happen. While his good friend Steve Ballmer will leave the company, Gates apparently wants to remain a member of the board of directors and thus keep an eye on the empire he’s founded.
Whatever his decision, it’s hard not to respect it and agree with Bill Gates. It’s always a pleasure to listen to him talking, even though he’s not doing it from the Microsoft CEO seat.
With all these being said, happy birthday Mr. Gates! All of us (including our Windows department) wish you a very happy birthday and a delightful anniversary party.