When most people think of retirement, early bird dinner specials in Florida or Arizona come to mind, for they are the expected destinations of the recently retired. Now that Bill Gates has just made his final appearance at the CES, the world should ask what’s next for Gates instead of what is the future of Microsoft (MSFT – $34.22).
If you were to ask Bill Gates about his plans for life after Microsoft, he'd likely tell you of his desire to improve the living conditions of children in sub-Saharan Africa, to eliminate poverty in India, to empower women in the business world, or to improve educational standards and graduation rates among less affluent citizens of the United States.
Gates could just as easily take the path of greed and personal wealth expansion, a la Carlos Slim (The world’s wealthiest person according to Fortune Magazine), and take up charitable causes that increase his bank balance. Instead, Gates has joined forces with Warren Buffet to combine their wealth and make the world a better place for those less fortunate.
So what can we expect from the Gates the philanthropist? His foundation currently has an asset trust of nearly $38 billion, and as stated above, he has lofty goals for his charity. One might speculate that based on his Microsoft career, he could become a major backer in the XO Laptop project or something similar to bridge the gap between the tech haves and have-nots. In a world where most are unable to overcome the technological divide, Gates could be a knight in shining armor.
With nearly half of the world’s population surviving on roughly two dollars a day, perhaps the trust money could be spent on expanding programs created by Bangladeshi Nobel prize winner Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who pioneered the microcredit concept through his Grameen bank. If more of the world’s impoverished population were able to obtain small loans through the Gates foundation’s backing, millions could raise themselves out of poverty.
In a world with so many in need, Gates and his new focus on philanthropy has the potential to empower and better the lives of hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people worldwide. It is of the utmost importance that the money that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donate makes a difference. If Gates truly wants to change the world, he must focus on teaching a man to fish and not how to beg for it.
It was once written that “With great power there must also come great responsibility.” Hopefully Gates has taken that to heart, and will give those less fortunate in this world the hand up that they need.