Bill Gates is NOT the most charitable person around. Four years ago, I enrolled in the Jerry Lewis Telethon "Jail for Bail" program to benefit Muscular Distrophy patients. I emailed Microsoft for a contribution, and they told me that they don't contribute to such organizations. I found it hard to believe that a man with his kind of resources, had a lack of regard for people who are destined to a death sentence because of MS. My bail was only $1500.00...I was able to raise over $1200...5 bucks here, 10 buck there, 50 bucks there. It added up.

As far as I am concerned, Bill Gates can rot in hell. He is another example of someone who only exploits his own product for his personal gain. The reply message that I received said that they only contribute computers or money, to organizations to further an institutions education. That was 4 years ago, and maybe that policy has changed...but I doubt it. If their policy has changed, then I stand corrected and I offer an apology to Mr. Gates.

I challenge Mr. Gates to do something that will help out a lot of people. Contribute to the Muscular Distrophy Association.

Gates should have retired several years ago. The stock has been in the toilet for 5 years or more. Vista has no date certain for release. Microsoft continues to get its ass sued off around the world. The next to announce retirement should be Steve Ballmer. The two of them have done nothing for shareholders.

Bill Gates continues to lead the pack in business, technology and in walkin' the walk...he knows more than anyone else what Microsoft needs to secure future holdings and revenue. Transitioning himself out of day-to-day ops in just 2 years must have been a very difficult decision for him to make and then put into motion...there are guys who own pizza shops and retail stores who don't know when to give it up!
Remember, in this country wealthy people still INHERIT their money (and don't do much for the little guys at all)...he EARNED it...and built his empire from the ground up...it is such a rare feat to do that even in the 21st century very few people have done it...Ms. Oprah Winfrey is another self-made person...these people are what they are ordinary extraordinary regulars...pull your butts out of your chairs & sofas and give up some respect and love for the game and a guy who played it well.}:->
New York Stands up for ya Bill ! ! ! We stand for you, Melinda, Microsoft and all the charity work you have done and continue to do. We R-E-S-P-E-C-T your life and legacy...really in NY you & yours are always welcomed...and you know we NYers don't love or/and welcome everyone. Peace.

Bill Gates Bowing Out
Bill Gates, not Steve Ballmer, is going to leave Microsoft (MSFT).

Effective in July 2008, Bill Gates will transition out of the day-to-day role inside Microsoft to focus on his global health and education work for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. After July 2008 Gates would continue to serve as the company's chairman and an advisor on key development projects.

While the company is saying it will be July of 2008, you can probably bet that with such a far lead time that this date will come sooner than that date. When people give a 2 year timeline, it is usually only half of that time.

The company announced that Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie will immediately assume the title of chief software architect and begin working side by side with Gates on all technical architecture and product oversight responsibilities to ensure a smooth transition.

I can recall being with some friends after work one hot day in 1998 when I was the news broadcaster for a large day trading firm discussing the day this would come. We basically came to the conclusion that MSFT would trade down 5% on the news if it was this, or even worse if it was a death or incapacitation that instantly rendered the company into a stagnant position. That was back when Gates' stake was even higher and back when Gates was the man the world watched. Microsoft was then the greatest growth story of all time and making new millionaires each day and when the company was announcing stock splits and massive growth initiatives on a regular basis. Now it is the most dominant fixed software company that has been snared into mature markets hindered with product delays that has diversified into many areas, and a cash rich and slow moving behemoth that has too many characteristics similar to old fashioned utilities back in the day. As a friend of mine who works for the Federal Reserve in Chicago said the afternoon Microsoft announced its special $3.00 dividend that changed the company: "Microsoft isn't a growth company anymore; It's a Utility stock!".

MSFT traded up 0.87% today during the normal trading hours and the shares, while they dropped over 1% initially, are actually up a few pennies in after-hours trading. What do you think the market thinks of him now? It may not be fair to take the attitude that even Mr. gates is deemed largely irrelevant to the company, but the market sometimes is not kind to individuals.

As of the last date posted, Bill Gates owned 977 Million shares of Microsoft. You can bet that there will be dozens of analyst reports tomorrow morning with mixed messages, and speculation of when more stock sales will come out. He did signal in the past that he intended to retire when he was 55, and this looks like it will put him 2 years short of that age. He has already been out of the CEO position for some time, so you can bet that while some will miss him many calls tomorrow will say SO WHAT.

In his exit announcement he said, "I've decided that two years from today, I will reorganize my personal priorities. I believe with great wealth comes great responsibility, the responsibility to give back to soicety and make sure those resources are given back in the best possible way, to those in need."

This has oddly enough not had much impact on key competitors in after-hours trading. Google (GOOG) is up 0.10%, Yahoo! (YHOO) is down 0.25%, RealNetworks (RNWK) is up 0.5%, Sun Micro (SUNW) is only up 0.2%, and WebEx Communications (WEBX) is flat. Oracle (ORCL) is the stand-out up 5% in after-hours trading, but that is after the company gave positive guidance for the quarter.

Jon C. Ogg
June 15, 2006

bill gates leaving may be a good thing for microsoft,but as a shareholder , i wish it was steve ballmer. mr. ballmer does not want to return a cent of special dividend to shareholders..which in my opinion would have helped to lift stock value at least for the short term. microsoft is a great company, and the stock value should be much higher than current valuation.

matt m.

who cares? A filthy rich guy is leaving the company he founded for what? His and his wifes giving has done what? I'm not losing sleep over Bill/MrsGates leaving microsoft...it's a one day story Goodbye bill

Good news! The wicked witch is dead! (Well, almost......)
At least we won't have to worry about Billy's strong-arm tatics/bull-in-the-china-shop/robber baran's ways anymore. I for one would welcome watching the blood-stained giant that is Mirco-Soft teeter and then fall. If Billy's retirement hastens that end, then I'm all for it!
MircoSoft's domination of the world's software market has been a huge roadblock towards the advancement of personal computers for serveral years now. Yeah, yeah, I know, it wouldn't be where it is today without Billy's brillant marketing of the personal computer, and the Windows MOS, but really, it's very sucess (and Billy's willingness to stamp out any and all competiers, through legal or ilegal means for that matter) has caused the advancments in personal computers to grind almost to a standstill.

Maybe his passing will allow someone else to step up, and make the next big advancements possiable.

And, after all Billy, really, how much money do you really need anyway? Give it a rest already! Sheesh!

Bill Gates' personal wealth and Microsoft's past success was obtained by unfairly and dishonestly crushing the competition the same way all monopolies did it. In Microsoft's case, they wrote their Windows OS so their competitors' software would not work with Windows. Microsoft forced all the OEM PC builders to pay for Microsoft software whether anyone wanted it or not. Bill Gates and Ballmer have nothing to be proud of and should be ashamed of the methods they used to gain supremecy for Microsoft. Microsoft is no different than the other Monopolies and robber barons of the past such as the railroads, oil companies, mining companies, etc. Perhaps Bill can attempt to redeem himself with his so called charitable work. He has a lot of redeeming to do.

Amazing how little people with little minds can be so jealous of someone who has achieved the level of Bill Gates.
About half the blogs received here so far, are ripping Bill Gates.
Reality, Gates, Paul Allen and their eo-workerw, associates and employees developed the software which put personal computers into every life where they were welcome.
Having started with Apple's MACs at an already advanced age, I switched to PCs because Microsoft made it possible.
At Apple Computer's prices I probably would not be involved in computer use and the internet today.
Virtually every Senior Citizen I know is in the same boat. Peope in their sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties and even some still functioning beyond the century mark are corresponding daily with friends and family across the world.
With TEXT, REAL-TIME PHOTOS, 0N-LINE PHOTO ALBUMS and technology beyond our wildest dreams of 1950.
Consider this single benefit -- Because of Bill Gates, the computer world operates with an effective single standard.
Not with a thousand incompatible systems.
Not with several competing systems in each major economic region.
Consider for a moment.
The Internet as we know it, would not exist if Gates had not pursued his dream.
PCs would not be a commodity in the real world.
The man has possessed immense wealth for decades now. How has he used it.
To build more value for computer owners and operators.
To create jobs within Microsoft and create untold wealth for average people.
To create a charitable foundation among the world's greatest within less than 10 years.
To finance EDUCATION world wide, with the potential to build much more wealth in all regions of this planet.
What hasn't he done with his wealth?
He hasn't quit working 80-90 hours weekly as has been his lifetime pattern.
He has not indulged himself in the vices of the flesh common among wealthy entertainers (Hey Man, another Stone is in rehab this week. Ain't that SUPER COOL?)
He hasn't wrapped Bill and Melinda in the trappings of wealth. Even his home is a creative workplace for himself and his wife and close associates.
BILL GATES HAS CHOSEN TO DIRECT HIS WEALTH TO AREAS WHERE IT CAN MULTIPLE ITSELF IN THE HANDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.
WHILE HIS $50-BILLION SEEMS TO BE A STAGGERING AMOUNT, HIS APPLICATION OF THAT FORTUNE AND MORE MAY WELL GENERATE HUNDREDS OF TRILLIONS IN ASSETS FOR THE ENTIRE EARTH WITHIN HIS LIFETIME.
And some self-centered jerk cries that Bill Gates did not send him $1500 so his ego could be massaged as a fund-raising hero.
Others complain Gates has not declared big enough dividends for stockholders, Gates decisions have resulted in stockholders losing some pennies.
That's right, the same stockholders who invested pennies and are now millionaires.
[How anyone noticed, Warren Buffet's Berkshire-Hathaway does not pay dividends. How did the shares possibly gain value from a few dollars each to nearly $100,000 each.]
How small can people be?
Bill Gates does not wear a halo. With his practicality, if he discovered he had a halo, it would be used as a working night light.

People love to bash Gates. Regardless of what anyone says, this guy shaped the future for the better. This changing of the guards was coming. Gates gracefully steps out. Not that big of a deal. He always recruited and surrounded himself with the best. BTW only passive investors didn't make money on MSFT. Also you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who has given more to charity. He oversee his donations directly instead of blindly giving it away to some telemarketers. So congrats on your retirement Gates.

THIS COMPANY HAS BEEN STUCK IN CONCRETE NOT MUD FOR THE LAST 5 YRS.
The stock is as about exciting as a Bush speech. Where is the future of this company? Thats what most are asking and there are mucho other tech stocks out there more eappealing than MSFT.
Who has kept this company from really taking off? You got it Mr Gates.

Microsoft sucks BIG TIME!!!!!!!!!! Every jack ass running the company should resign for giving the people garbage!!! Every time they release a new product it takes 9 months for them to work out all the bugs. Hey geniuses try debugging the crap first and then releasing your software. The next computer I buy will be a MAC!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to see Bill Gates use the wealth of his charities and Microsoft do something that really mattered, to this presant world and the world to come, instead of his own glory

Obviously, Bill Gates has found what truly brings inner peace, and it is not accummulating tons of wealth, but helping others less fortunate then ourselves. I used to not like Bill, but he changed for the better. I think he deserves kudos and support for his decision. I like MS products and it is nice to have a uniform computer software platform that can be used anywhere in the world.

Bill and Melinda Gates have made sure that every school in Washington has computers for kids in school to learn on. He is a self made Billionaire who has been through hell with the government because they tried to get their sticky fingers on his money.He would not do anything to hurt his company so I am sure this is a good move for everyone. He has made many contributions to India and other countries as well. He just doesn't seek out all the publicity like the guys in congress do when they do a "good deed".

In the annals of modern history, no other single person has impacted the lifestyle of business professionals and private individuals - throughout the world - with anything close to what Bill Gates has. Isn't the object of any business to garner the largest market share possible; yet Gates gets bashed for his very success in that acheiving that objective. Who deserves our accolades more for the kind of impact Gates has made? Who deserves less slamming. To combine a couple of cliches - "Nothing breeds contempt like success (that we were unable to acheive)."

Thank you Bill Gates!!!! Windows has made my life a
whole lot easier. I am glad to see someone make it
from the ground up the way you did.
Congrats and enjoy your new venture.

ToMr and Mrs. Gates I say: Goodbys and good luck!! You deserve our greatest respect and admiration! Enjoy your future life! With or without Microsoft!

Hi, Microsoft’s health should not be impacted over the long run by the transitioning of its corporate leaders. It may dip morale and market share common stock but that will be short term impacts. In the long run, expect the company to forge forward with great innovative ideas and product expansion as usual. As it is, good strong companies must always change and adapt rapidly in its mission. What a great company and I wish Mr. Gates well, always.

John Sorenson (CTU Business Administration Student)

Congratulations to Bill Gates for having the guts and smarts to build an empire from the ground up. I only wish I were able to do the same. However, I think he may have lost sight of the little guy. When my son was searching for scholarships, I ran across the list offered by the Gates Foundation: if you are a white person they don't help you!! Just all the minorities and people from other countries. Go figure! I thought Gates was a white male American himself. He was one of those kids in high school people called a geek. Now, it seems, he has forgotten those days and no longer wants to help others in that category. Kudos to you, Bill, for your success and for your positive contributions to our society and world. Thanks for bringing computers out of the dark ages, but remember where you came from and give back. Then, perhaps another young man with a great idea might be able to pick up where you are leaving off; not just the rich guys with all the money and opportunity in the world. Good luck in your new capacity.