Bill Gates to retire from Microsoft on Friday
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was set Friday for his last day of full-time work at Microsoft - the company he founded 33 years ago on a hunch that personal computers would become an integral part of everyday life. The world’s largest software company said that it was not planning any public events to observe the transition, though the change would be marked by internal events. Gates, 52, will continue to hold the title of non-executive chairman and work about one day a week at Microsoft. He intends to devote the rest of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the wealthiest charity in the world, which is aimed at improving healthcare around the world and reducing extreme poverty. Founded with the vast fortune he made as Microsoft prospered, the foundation has an endowment of some 38.7 billion dollars with billions more expected to roll in as Gates transfers his massive personal wealth. Legendary investor Warren Buffet, currently the world’s richest man, has also pledged to transfer the vast majority of his wealth to the foundation.
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