Bill Gates is not known for giving out many interviews, but the founder and former CEO of Microsoft recently sat down with Caroline Graham from U.K.'s Daily Mail to promote a pledging conference for donors and partners of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization – which Gates co-founded in 2000. The result is an interesting and rare look into the psyche of one of the most influential people in the world, discussing his plans to change the world through philanthropy as well as other topics including his role at Microsoft now and his family life.
The interview starts off with Gates joking about how his three kids like to tease him by singing the song Billionaire by Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars, and how they are not going to inherit his $50+ billions – don't worry, these things are not related, he's not that evil. In fact, Gates comes out as more human and less intense than perhaps he has in the past, saying that such amount of money wouldn't be good for them and that they have to find their own way.
His three children, currently aged 15, 12 and nine, will reportedly inherit $10 million each (although he wouldn't disclose an amount in the interview), a fraction of his current net worth: "They will be given an unbelievable education and that will all be paid for. And certainly anything related to health issues we will take care of. But in terms of their income, they will have to pick a job they like and go to work. They are normal kids now. They do chores, they get pocket money."
They also don't get to have iPads, iPhones or iPods and instead get their Windows equivalent. "They have a Zune music player, which is a great Windows portable player," he says. On the bright side, he recently drove the whole family to a U2 concert in their minivan, and though they didn't get invited backstage Bono was staying at their place anyway.
When asked if he would ever consider returning to the helm at Microsoft, Bill just said that he remains part-time involved but his full-time work for the rest of his life is now in the foundation he runs with his wife. He has already given away $28 billion to charity and says he prefers dedicating his efforts to vaccinating the world's disadvantaged, rather than, say, being the guy who cures cancer, as the world is putting massive amounts of money into that already.
He shares a lot more in the interview, including his view on his "legacy". I encourage you to read the entire thing at the Daily Mail if you have a few minutes. Oh, and one last tidbit in case you are into Silicon Valley gossip, apparently during the interview Gates refers to Facebook CEO's longtime girlfriend Priscilla Chan as his "Fiancee." Facebook has since come out denying an engagement between the two – I hope he didn't put Zuckerberg in a tight spot!