Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

It's quite a redemption story. 20 years ago Bill Gates was reviled as one of the most evil people in technology. He was a bully and a thief, and crushed potential competitors for fun.

And then his mom told him he needs to start giving it away. And he said, "how can I make money if I'm giving it away". And she told him "you can give away what you already made while you make more to give away".

And then he started the foundation.



I thought it was Warren Buffet that convinced him to go the philanthropy route.


He said it was mom that told him "has to give it away" but Buffet guided him on how to do it.


Always asked myself how this came about. Is there somewhere I can read about it?


His testimony to the anti-trust investigation is on YouTube


To be clear, he spent about as much as humanly possible on himself first. He just didn't want to reserve the rest for his descendants.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: