Bill Gates Steps Down from Microsoft, to Focus Full Time on Climate Change and Philanthropy

UK International Development Secretary Justine Greening meeting with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation during his visit to London earlier today. Picture: Russell Watkins/DFID, source Wikimedia

Guest essay by Eric Worrall

Bill Gates has announced that he is resigning from the boards of Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway, to focus full time on Climate Change and Philanthropy.

Focusing My Time

Published on March 14, 2020

Bill Gates Influencer
Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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.

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Bill has been having a very tough time with his climate activism.

In 2015 Bill Gates announced a green tech fund to make renewable energy viable, though by 2018 his enthusiasm for renewables had waned a little.

In 2015 Bill Gates described representative democracy as a “problem”, because voters frequently select politicians who do not believe climate change is an urgent issue.

Bill Gates, for all his faults, is a remarkable individual, not someone who gives up easily. But stubbornness can sometimes be a trap.