Bill Gates Shifts Gears
Will Delegate Many Microsoft Duties, To Focus On Philanthropy
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Play CBS Video Video Bill Gates' New Job Bill Gates is stepping away from his day-to-day role running Microsoft and will focus more on giving away some of the world's largest fortune. Bill Whitaker reports on Gates' plans.
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Video Gates To Step Aside Bill Gates announced that he will give up day-to-day control of Microsoft in 2008 to concentrate on his charity work. Anthony Mason looks at the decision.
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Video Microsoft Without Bill Gates Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates says he will transition out of a day-to-day role in the company in 2008 to focus on charitable work. Newsweek's Jay Greene discusses the move with Harry Smith.
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The daisies are close at hand, but even though Bill Gates is cutting back on his daily duties at Microsoft, he may not have time to smell them: he'll be ramping up on his charity work. (AP)
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Looks like a great place to relax – the backyard of the Gates mansion just outside Seattle – but it's also a place for serious business: entertaining fellow philanthropists including Bono of U2. (AP)
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Bill and Melinda Gates run their foundation as a business, with each project held to a results standard. Above: groundbreaking in 2001 at a new facility at the University of Washington law school. (AP (file))
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Even when he's at play, Gates is always thinking about the numbers. Above: assessing the points in his hand while competing in the World Championship bridge tournament in Verona, Italy, June 6, 2006. (AP)
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Both Microsoft and the Gates foundations have made huge investments in India. Above: Gates helps out as polio vaccinations are administered at a children's clinic in New Delhi in Sept. 2000. (AP)
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Photo Essay Bill Gates The man who created Microsoft makes a career change to focus on charity.
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Timeline Microsoft Chronology Key dates and events in the history of the software giant.
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Interactive The Case Against Microsoft Learn the history of the software giant, review the government's antitrust case and follow its latest legal battles.
Bill Gates has thought about that famed Microsoft slogan question and concluded that it isn't to the office in Redmond - at least not every day.
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Thursday he will transition from day-to-day responsibilities at the company he co-founded to concentrate on the charitable work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates, 50, will continue as the company's chairman after transferring his duties over a two-year period.
"This was a hard decision for me," said Gates, who founded the world's largest software company with childhood friend Paul Allen. "I'm very lucky to have two passions that I feel are so important and so challenging. As I prepare for this change, I firmly believe the road ahead for Microsoft is as bright as ever."
Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's Chief Technical Officer, will immediately assume Gates' title as chief software architect and begin working with Gates on overseeing all software technical design.
Chief Technical Officer Craig Mundie will immediately take the new title of chief research and strategy officer and will work with Gates in those areas. Mundie also will partner with general counsel Brad Smith to guide Microsoft's intellectual property and technology policy efforts.
"Gates is extremely passionate about his foundation. He's not just a philanthropist; he's someone who really wants to get in there and make a difference with his mind and his money," says CBS News technology analyst Larry Magid. "If he can put the same skills and talent and energy that he put into one of the world's most influential companies into solving some of the world's most serious problems, that's good for everyone."
Gates is ranked by Forbes magazine as the world's richest man, with an estimated wealth of about $50 billion. That great wealth, he said, also brings great responsibility, and he repeated his often-spoken desire to give away the bulk of his fortune to charity. The Gates Foundation focuses on education and global health needs.
"Just as Microsoft has taken off in ways I never expected, so has the work of the foundation," he said.
In January 2000, Gates assumed the role of chief software architect and Steve Ballmer took over the role of chief executive officer. Ballmer remains responsible for all day-to-day operations and the company's business strategy.
The world "has had a tendency to focus a disproportionate amount of attention on me," Gates said, when in reality, Microsoft is a company with an extraordinary depth and breadth of talent.
"Our leadership team has never been stronger," he said.
"Bill and I are confident we've got a great team that can step up to fill his shoes and drive Microsoft innovation forward without missing a beat," Ballmer said.
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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