I guess people forgot how much people hated Bill Gates back in the 90s.
Gates was a businessman. He made great products, no one doubts that, but he also made many decisions that were unpopular, even bringing up antitrust charges for the ways he ran his company. He was the richest man in the world, which goes to show that money buys a lot, but it doesn’t buy love.
Later, Gates “retired” and set to how to ensure his legacy as a person who will be positively remembered for many generations. The way he made his fortune was not going to do that, so maybe his wife had a good idea.
He created the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and mostly stepped out of leading in business. Microsoft would run itself, from his perspective, and he would focus on his foundation.
Among other things, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation took on some fairly adventurous humanitarian goals, such as vaccinating millions upon millions of children from otherwise preventable diseases in the Developing World.
Eh. It’s a pretty good look for the guy. Did him pretty well. Today, no one remembers the Bill Gates of the 90s. People know him for being one of the wealthiest men in the world, but also for his great humanitarian and philanthropic works throughout the world. Perhaps it was selfishness and a desire to be remembered well, or maybe he has more noble angels guiding him. Who knows? The world is well off that he did what he did either way.
Jeff Bezos is a bit different.
Rather, he’s just in a different phase of life for that class of people. He is still building his empire, but doesn’t seem to have to have reached the point where he cares about his legacy beyond. Probably, like Gates and many others, he will. It might be ten years from now. It might be tomorrow. It might be never, but probably, we’ll see Bezos pass the full reigns of leadership off to someone else as he sets his sights to some great philanthropic vision. I’m kind of looking forward to whatever that might be.
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