Bill Gates is one of the most revered—yet most intense—business leaders in history. Gates, along with Paul Allen, founded Microsoft—a company that has had a lasting impact on the software industry, and Big Tech itself. Microsoft now boasts a $3.1 trillion market capitalization.
During his tenure building Microsoft, Gates infamously “didn’t believe in vacations” and worked on weekends. That same level of intensity allegedly bled into the philanthropic foundation he created with his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, according to an excerpt from Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World by Anupreeta Das, published by Business Insider last week. The Gates Foundation launched in 2000, and as of December 2023 holds $75.2 billion in its endowment. French Gates exited the Gates Foundation in May with $12.5 billion in tow.
