"I'm sorry that we have to have a Washington presence. We thrived during our first 16 years without any of this. I never made a political visit to Washington and we had no people here. It wasn't on our radar screen. We were just making great software."

Technology

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Thematic Reflection

This quotation examines the core nature of Technology as articulated by Bill Gates. Within historical and literary traditions, reflections on Technology provide actionable mental models, challenging individuals to evaluate personal ethics, self-discipline, and daily actions.

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About Bill Gates

William Henry Gates III is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Following Microsoft's initial public offering in 1986 and the subsequent increase in its stock price, Gates became the world's then-youngest billionaire in 1987, at age 31. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's wealthiest person in their The World's Billionaires list for 18 out of 24 years between 1995 and 2017, including 13 years consecutively from 1995 to 2007. Gates became the first centibillionaire in 1999, when his net worth briefly surpassed US$100 billion. According to Forbes, as of July 2026, his net worth stood at US$106.5 billion, making him the 19th-wealthiest individual in the world.

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More by Bill Gates

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."

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"If you're using first-class land for biofuels, then you're competing with the growing of food. And so you're actually spiking food prices by moving energy production into agriculture."

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"The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow."

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"It's really kind of cool to have solar panels on your roof."

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More about Technology

"The most important and urgent problems of the technology of today are no longer the satisfactions of the primary needs or of archetypal wishes, but the reparation of the evils and damages by the technology of yesterday."

— Dennis Gabor
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"The Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life."

— Andrew Brown
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"It's a 360-degree sound experience. Like you're in the middle of the band. A lot of people have the technology to play the format, so why not put it out there. It sounds great."

— Aaron Neville
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"I really love the internet. They say chat-rooms are the trailer park of the internet but I find it amazing."

— Carrie Fisher
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