Gates visited Tsinghua University in April 2007. Photographed by our reporter Hu Xuebai
None of the three children left
In an interview with a BBC reporter last week, Gates said that he would donate all his personal assets with a total market value of 58 billion dollars to charity foundations.
This arrangement was jointly made by him and his wife Melinda. Gates said, "We hope to give it back to the society and ensure that it has the most positive effect".
He promised to transfer the assets to the "Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation" account. Founded by the Gates in 2000, the Foundation is committed to promoting health and education projects around the world, and has now grown into the largest private charity in the United States.
From 1995 to 2007, Forbes magazine listed Gates as the richest man in the world for 13 consecutive years. In the latest global billionaire ranking released by Forbes in March this year, Gates ranked third with total personal assets of $58 billion.
The Gates planned to leave millions of dollars to their three children and donate the rest of their assets after their death. Today, they have no intention of leaving their legacy. "We decided not to leave property to the children," Gates said. The practice of distributing the estate in the will "is like saying which children are the most important".
Power transfer fades out of Microsoft
"I hope to make positive contributions to the world," Gates said.
In order to devote himself to charity, he has been reducing the burden of his work in the world's largest computer software publisher for two years.
Gates first handed over the position of CEO of Microsoft to Steve Ballmer, a classmate of Harvard University, and changed his position to chief software designer of the company. Then he handed over the position of chief software designer to Ray Ozzie, the former chief technology officer. Now he is ready to step down as CEO of Microsoft.
Microsoft can be called Gates "a big baby with one hand". Gates is 52 years old and began to write computer program software at the age of 13. In 1975, he dropped out of Harvard University when he was a junior, and formed Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen, leading the enterprise to grow into the world's most famous software publisher. At present, about 90% of the world's PC operating systems use the company's software.
Although the focus shifted, Gates still couldn't bear to ignore Microsoft completely. According to the plan, he is scheduled to be transferred to Microsoft's non-executive chairman after the 27th, and stay in the enterprise one day a week. He is still the largest shareholder of the enterprise.
The industry is worried about leaving a gap
Inside Microsoft, Gates' "turn" is called "change".
Although Gates has arranged various matters, considering the psychological changes of employees, many people in the industry expect that this "change" will leave an invisible gap for Microsoft.
The BBC reported that Microsoft employees are happy to admit that "Gates is Microsoft".
Charlene Lee, an analyst at Forrester Research, a consulting firm, commented: "What Gates has taken away is Microsoft's team cohesion."
"Microsoft needs to address the following challenges: When the founder leaves, remember the core of the enterprise (values)," said Rob Enderler, an analyst in Silicon Valley
According to Wu Zheng, a special correspondent of Xinhua News Agency
