The Gates giveaway
By John C. Dvorak, PC Magazine
August 17, 1999 8:36 AM PT
An interesting drama is unfolding as
the Department of Justice wraps up its case against Microsoft and as Microsoft revs up the
propaganda machine to make itself look better in the eyes of the public. The primary
effort: Make Bill Gates, the world's richest man, appear to be generous. Gates has set up
a foundation to give away money and has made public statements that he plans to give away
the vast majority of his fortune (currently topping $100 billion) to charity before he
dies. Can you imagine what things will be like if he actually does this?
First of all, I'd advise you go to the Gates charity pages to see exactly what he has
given away so far. The main site is a half-hearted effort with this surprisingly passive
message: "Bill and Melinda Gates hope to make an enduring contribution toward
increasing access to innovations in education, technology, and global health. More than
eleven billion dollars in endowments have been set aside for these causes."
Most of the home page seems preoccupied with photo credits for the pictures. And
although $11 billion is nothing to sneeze at, a deeper look at the write-ups reveals a lot
of cliches and platitudes. You can almost hear someone saying, "Mom!! Do I have
to!?!?"
So far, Gates has shown some inclination to help schools and libraries, under
certain conditions. The Oakland, California, public schools were given free software with
the condition that they use Microsoft Internet Explorer. Gates's foundation seems to be
giving money to libraries to encourage more computer literacy, which, of course, benefits
Microsoft. Giving away money in a way that has a long-term direct benefit to Microsoft
isn't charity, it's marketing.
The cornerstone of Gates's charitable giving is the Gates Library Foundation, which seems
ready to give just about every library anywhere from a few thousand dollars to a few
hundred thousand dollars. Exactly what the Rainbow City, Alabama, Public Library bought
with its $1,800 grant is a mystery, but it can't be much. I'd also be interested in your
feedback to try to explain exactly why the Library Foundation seems to be giving most of
its money to Alabama and Louisiana. Check out the
discrepancies geographically yourself. One grant in Indiana, 2 grants in Tennessee, 3
grants in South Dakota, over 150 in Alabama. Are these numbers inversely proportional to
literacy rates or some other statistic?
I will say that the group handling the global health grants seems a lot more
generous, but here too, the money seems to be getting spent in odd ways. Despite the press
release, I can't figure out what, if anything, Gates funded at the United Nations
Population Fund for a whopping $2.2 billion.
Cynics believe that all this talk about giving away money is nonsense and is
only floated to make Gates look good. With the kind of wealth we're talking about (and
with some wags predicting that Gates will soon be a trillionaire), giving away all the
loot, no matter how hard Gates tries, is going to be difficult.
But I assume he can do it. The biggest problem, from what I can see, will be to
avoid getting ripped off, and I don't worry too much about that. Gates doesn't get ripped
off--ever. And he's not a religious man, so the likelihood of him throwing billions at
some church is nil. Is there a possibility that some charismatic cult leader will
hypnotize him into coughing up billions? I don't see this happening (although it would be
funny if it did).
I believe that if Gates can ever walk away from Microsoft completely and focus
on some single chore such as curing cancer--that cancer will be cured. His ability to
focus is beyond compare, but he can focus only on one thing at a time, and right now that
thing is Microsoft. How will he shake himself loose? Catch-22. Gates is stuck in a rut.
Self-absorbed. Self-hypnotized. And though his PR minions tell us that he's "doing
what he loves," surely deep down he must be bored stiff. C'mon, Bill, try something
new. We're waiting.
At some point Gates may realize that the names Pasteur and Edison mean more than
the names Alfred Sloan or Henry Ford. My advice: Bill, turn your talents toward science.
Go find a cure for cancer.
