End of an Era: Bill Gates Announces His Decision To Step Down

It is truly the end of an era, as Bill Gates announced on Friday that he will be stepping down from his roles at both Berkshire Hathaway and his own child, Microsoft.

In a LinkedIn statement, Gates wrote,

I have made the decision to step down from both of the public boards on which I serve – Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway – to dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities including global health and development, education, and my increasing engagement in tackling climate change. The leadership at the Berkshire companies and Microsoft has never been stronger, so the time is right to take this step.

Serving on the Berkshire board has been one of the greatest honors of my career. Warren and I were the best of friends long before I joined and will be long after. I look forward to our continued partnership as co-trustees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and co-founders of The Giving Pledge.

(Interrupting real quick just to emphasize how radically awesome the Giving Pledge is. If you don’t bring it up every time someone pulls the “evil billionaires” card, now’s the time to start.)

With respect to Microsoft, stepping down from the board in no way means stepping away from the company. Microsoft will always be an important part of my life’s work and I will continue to be engaged with Satya and the technical leadership to help shape the vision and achieve the company’s ambitious goals. I feel more optimistic than ever about the progress the company is making and how it can continue to benefit the world.

I am looking forward to this next phase as an opportunity to maintain the friendships and partnerships that have meant the most to me, continue to contribute to two companies of which I am incredibly proud, and effectively prioritize my commitment to addressing some of the world’s toughest challenges.

Obviously, Gates is going to paint this series of events in the best light possible, and if there’s anything curious about the circumstances I doubt it’ll take long for us to hear about it.

But personally, I’ve always been a fan of the Gates. I think he contributed great innovations to society that literally have changed the world, and I have enormous respect for his philanthropic work. I’m prepared to accept his statement at face value and I wish him the best.

What do you think?