After originally joining the board on February 4, 2014, Microsoft has announced that Bill Gates has stepped down from the Board of Directors. He will remain as an advisor to CEO Satya Nadella, and as part of the leadership as a whole, as Technology Advisor.

Bill Gates is known as a very philanthropic individual. His stepping down, in fact, is specifically so that he can dedicate his time to larger priorities such as global health, development, education, and climate change. It is possible that even the recent coronavirus outbreak, which has caused global crisis, including the cancellation of this year's E3, has hurried his decision to step away from the Board of Directors. But his history of philanthropy shows that he is more than willing to help in times of great need, or when times are generally healthy.

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Gates may have already been working towards stepping away. In 2008 he changed out of a day-to-day role to spend more time with his foundation. Again he changed roles in 2014 and served as Chairman of the Board. CEO Satya Nadella, who has said that he wants Microsoft to be the Netflix of gaming, said in a statement that "it has tremendous honor and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years" and "Microsoft will continue to benefit from Bill's ongoing technical passion and advice to drive our products and services forward."

bill gates microsoft podium

Bill Gates has given away billions, but even as he's done that, he's not shied away from small and trivial, yet still meaningful ways to give, as well. He's been called "the best Secret Santa ever" for his giving ways and for being a good guy. It's no surprise that he wants to step away from the business side of Microsoft and lean more towards philanthropy, to have a larger impact on things he may find more significant.

The Bill Gates documentary on Netflix reveals a lot about who he is, how he became such a successful individual, and even why is he so philanthropic. He is a very heavy reader, his wife is much involved in his business affairs, and together they work hard on trying to have a social footprint on the world, one conversation at a time. His mother trained him at a young age to be social, which has not only helped him in the world of business, but it's helped him care about people.

Gates has also learned to step away and let others lead. Gates almost shut-down the Xbox project entirely, because it didn't have Windows integration. Ed Fries, the co-founder of Xbox, shared that the meeting with Gates was one of the weirdest he'd ever been in. In the end, Gates gave the team the green light and a few decades later the Xbox is one of the top gaming industries in the world.

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Source: PRNewswire