Bill Gates' new life

Abandoning daily work at Microsoft, Bill Gates decided to leave the legacy in the way of many industrial tycoons. Today's Carnegie, Getty and Rockefeller names are not tied to the industry they have pioneered, but with good work.

In the next two years, Gates will turn the responsibility of a company leader into an interest in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the charity he and his wife founded in 1994.

" When you were the richest man in the world, how did you measure your success? " Mark Stephens, a technology writer whose pseudonym was Robert X. Cringely asked. " Winning the Nobel Peace Prize. He once told his friends that it was the goal ."

Gates is still the president of the software company he founded and turned it into a software company that embraces the world. Windows operating systems are now available in most computers worldwide. That success brought Gates to the richest person in the world, with an estimated fortune of $ 50 billion.

Bill Gates' ball printed on the Microsoft logo in a press conference.Photo: AFP

However, in recent years, he has been paying more and more attention to the Gates Foundation. The fund has spent $ 10 billion on campaigns to reform education, fighting against AIDS and malaria. It has a total budget of more than US $ 29 billion and expenditures across the World Health Organization.

The announcement of Gates' retreat was made while Microsoft was fighting to win a competitive advantage. The importance of PC-based software is declining with the growing influence of network applications. Microsoft's central position in the computing world is being violently attacked by Internet companies like Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

Gates began to gradually shift power at Microsoft in 2000, when he put Steve Ballmer as chief executive in the wake of the legal battle between the company and the US Justice Department. In that war, Gates was often regarded as an uncompromising monopolist. Bringing Ballmer up is seen as a way to build Microsoft a softer face in the public eye.

The decision last Thursday marked a much more profound change, said Mark Stahlman, a technology strategist at Hedgerow Partners.

" That reflects the fact that Gates is no longer able to grasp all the changes that have been happening in the IT sector ," Stahlman said. " He was turned on by the lawsuit and was relying on others. At the moment, it is important that what he says - giving his assets - has brought positive momentum to the company ."

This step back allows Microsoft to replace blood at the top level.

Gates's role as chief architect for software and technology will be taken over by Ray Ozzie, 50 years old. He was the creator of Lotus Notes, joining Microsoft after the company bought his first company, Groove Networks, last year. Technical director Craig Mundie takes over the role of research and strategy, and chief consultant Brad Smith takes responsibility for copyright and technology policy.

" In a way, today the most important thing is not Bill Gates but the promotion of others, in senior positions in technology and strategy, " Stahlman admitted.

But some observers believe that Microsoft has to make up to 3 alternative people to do Gates' previous jobs, showing how big his influence on Microsoft is.

" There are many companies that are not dependent on an individual, but Microsoft is, in many ways, " said Michael Cohen, Pacific American Securities research director. " I think it can replace him in terms of technology, but not in business strategy.

If Gates is still president and works in a part-time company, Microsoft will benefit from his wisdom in how to create a marriage between business strategy and technology . "

The change could give Gates more time to focus on being the world's most influential philanthropist, through the humanitarian fund he financed with Microsoft stock. He and his wife traveled the world, visiting Indian slums and suckling villages in Africa.

" For a long time, he once said he would invest money wisely to create jobs to collect money, " said Greg DeMichillie, an analyst with Directions on Microsoft - an independent research agency in the state. Washington, said. "It is common for him to turn to charity work ."

The Gates Foundation has been at the forefront of fighting the diseases that many people around the world have, including malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS. Gates was passionate about learning the causes of disease problems and discussing them with researchers and policymakers.

" Obviously, he realized that the problems that charities had to deal with were as interesting and complex as the problems he faced in leading Microsoft, " said Ian Wilhelm, senior veteran of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. (Charity specialist), commented.

Some commented that Gates had the style of an autonomous capitalist, with personality similar to oil magnate John D. Rockefeller.

Gates said he plans to spend 7 weeks this summer. This was the first time Gates had allowed him to take more than two weeks off since he founded Microsoft. During that time, Gates will join the government leadership forum in Africa.

Observers predict that Gates will quietly shift the focus of his operations and competitiveness, devoting less power to the business at Microsoft, and devoting more to solving the whole problem. bridge.

" Look at Microsoft 's difficulties in the last two years. Little bunny Google is squeezing noose around this company, " said Paul Saffo, director of the Future Research Institute in Palo Atlto (California). " Bill needs to secretly switch to another thing. He doesn't need to watch out if Google has lost his throne in the charitable world ."

Gates said he would devote more time, not more Microsoft shares, to the new goal.

" I always consider myself the biggest shareholder of Microsoft ," he said. " And I'm proud of that ."

T. Huyen