Top Five Bill Gates Quotes
This past May, Bill Gates made headlines again when he reclaimed the title of “World’s Richest Man.” According to the Bloomsberg Billionaires Index, Gates had a net worth of nearly $73 billion. Gates’ groundbreaking advancement of computer technology has long established him and his company, Microsoft, as household names during the last three decades.
Unlike his contemporaries, Gates is not one to lavishly spend his money. Instead he and his wife, Melinda Gates, are fervent believers of the mantra, “with wealth comes responsibility.” The power couple established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 1997 to address the issues of global poverty and disease, as well as those of domestic education and systemic inequality. For nearly two decades the foundation has worked to eradicate everything from malaria to the recreational use of tobacco. To date, Gates has donated almost $30 billion to the foundation.
Gates, however, is not only a man of great action but also of sound philosophy. His belief in a harmonious balance between philanthropy and capitalism, as well as his faith in government action and public policy as ideal agents for social change, are awe-inspiring. Hopefully, with Gates’ continued success as both a business mogul and humanitarian leader, more elite members of America’s top 1 percent will learn to share the wealth.
1. “I believe that if you show people the problems and you show them the solutions they will be moved to act.”
2. “People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn’t they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines. There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear.”
3. “You know capitalism is this wonderful thing that motivates people, it causes wonderful inventions to be done. But in this area of diseases of the world at large, it’s really let us down.”
4. “The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow.”
5. “Governments will always play a huge part in solving big problems. They set public policy and are uniquely able to provide the resources to make sure solutions reach everyone who needs them. They also fund basic research, which is a crucial component of the innovation that improves life for everyone.”
– Melrose Huang
Read quotes about global poverty.
Sources: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA Today, BrainyQuote
Photo: Techno Crates
