This is a very common viewpoint among technical people, sadly. Kind of like how humanists think math is about counting things. I'm not implying Gates is of that variety, but, you know, his kind, our kind. Not that there's much point in reading Shakespeare nowadays, anyway.
Why do you think there's no point in reading Shakespeare?
I like many people, read Shakespeare in high school and disliked it. Reading it again as an adult is a completely different experience, and one I highly recommend.
My favorite play is Titus Andronicus. How often do you have Anger, Rape, and Murder personified on stage, or forced cannibalism? The Quentin Tarantino of Shakespeare for sure.
One of the greatest joys I find is when something of an outrageous reputation actually lives up to that reputation. The Beatles, SICP, a couple examples. Shakespeare is perhaps the greatest example.
Some people have argued that nobody should read Shakespeare until after forty. I'm younger than that, but it's true that one of the greatest pleasures of reading great literature is recognition - RE-cognition - and you have to live some before you can recognize something in a piece of art.
As a long time reader of both science fiction and fantasy, only about .1% is instructional or thought provoking, the rest is escapism or wish fulfillment, the modern version of the penny dreadful.
I am dissapointed by most scifi because I have such high expectations for it. So I have started to look to other genres that offer better quality on average.
Shakespeare's comedies are absolutely hilarious. You need to watch one at an authentic Shakespeare festival as well. His tragedies and histories are good too, but I'm a sucker for the humor, play on words, and overall wit in his writing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_cultures