Bill Gates

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, shakes hands with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, right, following a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Tuesday Jan. 29, 2008.

From left to right, Jordan's Queen Rania, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, and Irish musician Bono listen to questions during a media conference at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday Jan. 25, 2008. Buoyed by a burst of optimism from Gates, business and government leaders attending the World Economic Forum heard more about positive things they can do to make an impact globally.

What Happens In Vegas... — AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Guitarist Slash, left, plays next to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, right, during Gates' keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008.

Microsoft founder and billionaire Bill Gates shows his cards during a pause at the 12th World Bridge Championships in Verona, Italy, on June 12, 2006. Three days later Gates said he'll give up his day-to-day responsibilities at the software giant. He will continue as the company's chairman after transferring his duties over a two-year period.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, left, and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, greet each other backstage at the seventh annual MSN Strategic Account Summit in Redmond, Wash., on May 3, 2006. The event brought more than 700 advertising, technology, communications and entertainment leaders from 27 countries to Microsoft headquarters to explore trends shaping online media.

Singer Justin Timberlake, center, joins Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, right, and MTV U.S. Networks Group President Van Toffler, left, during Gates' opening keynote speech of the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 4, 2006.

Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates delivers the opening keynote speech at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 4, 2006.

Bill Gates, who in recent years has donated more than $1 billion to major health campaigns dealing with HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and vaccines, speaks at the opening session of the World Health Organization's annual assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 16, 2005.

Bono, Irish musician and singer of the band U2, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, from right, talk after a joint news conference on Africa during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 27, 2005. Bono, Gates, and his wife Melinda, were named by Time magazine as Persons of the Year for 2005.

Bill Gates of Microsoft holds an Iriver music player as he delivers the keynote kickoff address of the Consumer Electronics Show Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2005, at the Las Vegas Hilton. Each year, the massive giant trade show begins with Gates' speech.

A Nod To Regal Style — Chris Young/ROTA/Getty Images

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II presents Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates with an honorary knighthood at Buckingham Palace on March 2, 2005, as his wife, Melinda, looks on. The world's richest man, Gates cannot use the title "Sir," as he is not a British citizen. He received the Knight of the British Empire insignia in recognition of his charitable donations in Commonwealth countries.

Bill Gates, Microsoft chairman and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks at a news conference at the Time Global Health Summit in New York on Nov. 2, 2005. The Gates Foundation is committed to promoting greater equity in global health, education, public libraries, and support for at-risk families in Washington state and Oregon.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, center, talks with Melinda Gates, right, in New Delhi, India, as Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect, Bill Gates, left, looks on during a call on world leaders to embrace vaccines as a key to saving children's lives, Dec. 7, 2005.

Bill and Melinda Gates at the annual Allen & Co. media conference July 12, 2003, in Sun Valley, Idaho. Gates says the time has come to give up the day-to-day running of the company he helped form in 1995, because he wants to concentrate on the charities run by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The couple has three children.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, right, answers questions from the media at the sixth annual Microsoft CEO Summit, with Bill Gates, left, chairman of Microsoft, on May 22, 2001.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates contends with an ill-fitting hard hat while his wife, Melinda, looks on during the groundbreaking of the University of Washington's new law school facility, William H. Gates Hall, in Seattle on May 4, 2001. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation donated $12 million towards the building.

Microsoft's Bill Gates after being hit in the face by cream tarts by the infamous pie thrower, Noel Godin, as the computer mogul arrived in Brussels, Belgium, for a reception on April 2, 1998.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates as he testifies during hearings before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on on March 3, 1998. Gates went to Congress to testify that the computer industry needs to develop and sell new products without governmental intervention, but he was accused by competitors of stifling competition.

Bill Gates demonstrates Microsoft's Windows 95 program from his automobile prior to a news conference in Paris, on Sept. 4, 1995. The man who is the face of Microsoft is giving up the day-to-day running of the software giant in 2008. Gates says he will stay on as chairman, but let others worry about the daily tasks at the company he started with childhood pal Paul Allen.

A 1984 photo of William Henry Gates III, founder and chairman of Microsoft. Gates and his childhood friend Paul Allen founded Microsoft on April 4, 1975, in Albuquerque, N.M., to make and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800, an early computer that was sold to hobbyists. Gates dropped out of Harvard University in his third year to focus on the company.