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Microsoft founder Bill Gates leaves the board of directors of the US software giant. The billionaire explained that he wanted to spend more time in his foundation. He also resigned another post.
After more than 40 years in the company, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is leaving his position on the board of directors of the software group. Gates said it wanted to gain more time for its various charities, Microsoft said on Friday after the US market closed. The 64-year-old will continue to work as a "technology consultant" for CEO Satya Nadella and other top managers.
The reason was that Gates now wanted to concentrate more on his foundation. The entrepreneur and his wife Melinda run one of the largest foundations in the world. The Gates Foundation has several billion dollars and funds health programs around the world. The couple is also involved in education and climate change.
At Microsoft, Gates had already withdrawn from day-to-day business in mid-2008 and resigned as Chairman of the Board of Directors in February 2014. His position on the top executive committee of the group, which is subordinate to the executive board, should not initially be filled. The board of directors shrinks to twelve members.
The Microsoft workforce in 1978 with the two Microsoft founders Bill Gates (front row, l) and Paul Allen (front row, r).
Gates also resigned from the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway, the company of investor Warren Buffett. The holding company, whose conglomerate includes over 80 companies, said in a mandatory notice to the US stock exchange regulator that Kenneth Chenault had been nominated as the successor.
Gates founded Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen, who died of cancer in 2018. Together, they shaped the beginnings of the PC industry and made it extremely rich. With a fortune of just under $ 104 billion (around € 93.5 billion), Gates is currently the second richest person in the world after Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, according to estimates by the US magazine "Forbes".
