"The way to be successful in the software world is to come up with breakthrough software, and so whether it's Microsoft Office or Windows, its pushing that forward. New ideas, surprising the marketplace, so good engineering and good business are one in the same."

Work

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Insight & Reflection

Words carry weight, and Bill Gates's insight into work is no exception. It serves as a gentle reminder that amidst the chaos of modern life, timeless wisdom still holds the power to guide our decisions and clarify our values.

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.

More quotes by Bill Gates  ’
Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Bill Gates

"It is a enduring truth that he who inspires courage in a single soul has led a monumental campaign — an essential principle for the reflective life."

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"The universe speaks in the silent dialect of universal natural laws. A lesson woven into the fabric of human history — an essential principle for the reflective life."

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"The moral compass points true only when freed from the magnetism of personal gain. In this truth lies the bedrock of all virtue — an essential principle for the reflective life."

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More about Work

"Perhaps one of the most important accomplishments of my administration has been minding my own business."

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"What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose."

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"I know what it's like to start a business. I know how extra ordinarily difficult it is to build something from nothing. I know how government kills jobs and, yes, I know how it can help from time- to-time."

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"Starting a new retirement plan for those below a certain age is something tens of millions of Americans have already been through at work."

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