Bill Gates is a pioneer in tech, business and philanthropy.
The Microsoft founder grew the company into the giant it is today. Since leaving day-to-day operations in 2014, Gates has turned his full attention to solving global problems with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he oversees with his wife.
The recent Netflix documentary, "Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates," takes a fascinating look at the man behind the magnate. While the three-part series seems to take as its subject the Gates Foundation, it offers a rare glimpse into Bill's habits, like his compulsive reading ("I've been with him on vacation and he'll read 14 books," a friend says), or his punctuality ("He is on time to the minute, every single meeting without fail," says Lauren Jiloty of Gates Ventures).
Gates has a net worth of $105.7 billion. The amount was enough to surpass Jeff Bezos as the world's richest man on Friday when the Amazon stock fell 7%. Bezos regained top spot by Friday afternoon, with his net worth bouncing back to $109.9 billion at the time markets closed.
Even allowing for market fluctuations, you don't need to be a computer whiz to know that Gates is wildly successful. These are some of Gates' best quotes on success and accomplishments.
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.
Don't compare yourself with anyone in this world... if you do so, you are insulting yourself.
Patience is a key element of success.
I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.
If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.
Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10. Don't let yourself be lulled into inaction.
To win big, you sometimes have to take big risks.
Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning.
A bad strategy will fail no matter how good your information is, and lame execution will stymie a good strategy. If you do enough things poorly, you will go out of business.
Customers want high quality at low prices and they want it now.
Only a few businesses will succeed by having the lowest price, so most will need a strategy that includes customer services.
It's fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.
We all need people who will give us feedback. That's how we improve.
As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.
The most amazing philanthropists are people who are actually making a significant sacrifice.
If all my bridge coach ever told me was that I was 'satisfactory,' I would have no hope of ever getting better. How would I know who was the best? How would I know what I was doing differently?
Legacy is a stupid thing! I don't want a legacy.
Lectures should go from being like the family singing around the piano to high-quality concerts.
Like my friend Warren Buffett, I feel particularly lucky to do something every day that I love to do. He calls it 'tap-dancing to work.'
The belief that the world is getting worse, that we can't solve extreme poverty and disease, isn't just mistaken. It is harmful.
Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point.
I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the fact that I had a chance to read a lot.
Life is not fair, get used to it.
If you can't make it good, at least make it look good.
If your culture doesn't like geeks, you are in real trouble.
Measuring programming progress by lines of code is like measuring aircraft building progress by weight.
The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
I realized about 10 years ago that my wealth has to go back to society. A fortune, the size of which is hard to imagine, is best not passed on to one's children. It's not constructive for them.
