Bill Gates

But he didn't get to that stage, and I was just getting into that stage. So I shared with him a little bit about, wow, a lot of children die, and we don't do much to stop that. And that kind of intrigued him, but then he never got to pursue it.

I have a good friendship both with Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Elon stands by himself. Maybe that drives everybody else together. I don't know. And, you know, over time, I think Elon, as he gets older, maybe he'll mellow out a little bit and – probably be an incredible philanthropist based on everything else that he's done. But yes, there is some good conversation.

I have a good friendship both with Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg. Elon stands by himself. Maybe that drives everybody else together. I don't know. And, you know, over time, I think Elon, as he gets older, maybe he'll mellow out a little bit and – probably be an incredible philanthropist based on everything else that he's done. But yes, there is some good conversation.

Larry Ellison is now in a phase where he's doing some excellent philanthropy and we're all a bit more reflectful. I mean, hopefully by the time you get to 70, you've been hyper-successfully, you can relax and let your guard down a little bit and laugh about the things you got wrong.

Larry Ellison is now in a phase where he's doing some excellent philanthropy and we're all a bit more reflectful. I mean, hopefully by the time you get to 70, you've been hyper-successfully, you can relax and let your guard down a little bit and laugh about the things you got wrong.

Yeah, well, you know, Microsoft, the one big challenge we had is we were so successful by the late 90s that we got into antitrust difficulties. And in retrospect, we could have handled that better. And so I've been very open with Mark. You know, I used to brag that I didn't have an office in D.C. and I didn't. you know, what a great country that I didn't have to talk to politicians.

Yeah, well, you know, Microsoft, the one big challenge we had is we were so successful by the late 90s that we got into antitrust difficulties. And in retrospect, we could have handled that better. And so I've been very open with Mark. You know, I used to brag that I didn't have an office in D.C. and I didn't. you know, what a great country that I didn't have to talk to politicians.

Well, that was a mistake. You know, now, you know, you've got all of them going to the inauguration and, you know, so they're not making that mistake. Maybe they, have they corrected too much in the other direction? Well, you know, history will judge. So, yeah, I'm It's weird to be kind of an elder statesman. Satya, who runs Microsoft, has done such a brilliant job.

Well, that was a mistake. You know, now, you know, you've got all of them going to the inauguration and, you know, so they're not making that mistake. Maybe they, have they corrected too much in the other direction? Well, you know, history will judge. So, yeah, I'm It's weird to be kind of an elder statesman. Satya, who runs Microsoft, has done such a brilliant job.

And one of my great fears when I left Microsoft to go do philanthropy was how bad I would feel if it wasn't doing well. And so Steve Ballmer did a great job, and now Satya's with this AI generation.

And one of my great fears when I left Microsoft to go do philanthropy was how bad I would feel if it wasn't doing well. And so Steve Ballmer did a great job, and now Satya's with this AI generation.

So that's another great blessing is that not only the value of the stock, but also the fact I can just focus on, okay, what about polio and malaria, you know, knowing that they're taking the company to new heights? You know, what? what a great blessing, uh, that's been for me.

So that's another great blessing is that not only the value of the stock, but also the fact I can just focus on, okay, what about polio and malaria, you know, knowing that they're taking the company to new heights? You know, what? what a great blessing, uh, that's been for me.

over a hundred billion dollars. I mean, that, you know, what is that? And it's not, you know, you don't want to just give that to children and create some dynasty. That's not even a favorite to them. You want to give that back. So these are unprecedented fortunes.

over a hundred billion dollars. I mean, that, you know, what is that? And it's not, you know, you don't want to just give that to children and create some dynasty. That's not even a favorite to them. You want to give that back. So these are unprecedented fortunes.

And if you're a great innovator and you know how to gather scientists together and think about problems, then there are some government is risk averse. And particularly poor countries don't have that capacity to think about eradicating malaria or solving malnutrition. There is something that

And if you're a great innovator and you know how to gather scientists together and think about problems, then there are some government is risk averse. And particularly poor countries don't have that capacity to think about eradicating malaria or solving malnutrition. There is something that

Philanthropy can have these outsized results in terms of lives saved, almost like, you know, a great startup does on the side of innovation. So getting those minds to turn those capacities to equity, to the poorest, both inside the U.S. and abroad. Outside the U.S., you know, I feel that, you know, we've got the golden rule. We're supposed to care about people.

Philanthropy can have these outsized results in terms of lives saved, almost like, you know, a great startup does on the side of innovation. So getting those minds to turn those capacities to equity, to the poorest, both inside the U.S. and abroad. Outside the U.S., you know, I feel that, you know, we've got the golden rule. We're supposed to care about people.

There are times when it feels like sympathy for poor people outside the country is lower today than it's been. But I know that'll come back around because of the the moral logic there, I think, uh, I, I believe is, is, is very, very strong.