Quotes By Bill Gates

If you can't make it good, at least make it look good.

In inner-city, low-income communities of color, there's such a high correlation in terms of educational quality and success.

In American math classes, we teach a lot of concepts poorly over many years. In the Asian systems they teach you very few concepts very well over a few years.

I actually thought that it would be a little confusing during the same period of your life to be in one meeting when you're trying to make money, and then go to another meeting where you're giving it away. I mean is it gonna erode your ability, you know, to make money? Are you gonna somehow get confused about what you're trying to do?

Expectations are a form of first-class truth: If people believe it, it's true.

I was lucky to be involved and get to contribute to something that was important, which is empowering people with software.

Well the protester I think is a very powerful thing. It's basically a mechanism of democracy that, along with capitalism, scientific innovation, those things have built the modern world. And it's wonderful that the new tools have empowered that protestor so that state secrets, bad developments are not hidden anymore.

Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself.

The general idea of the rich helping the poor, I think, is important.

We are in the throes of a transition where every publication has to think of their digital strategy.

Since when has the world of computer software design been about what people want? This is a simple question of evolution. The day is quickly coming when every knee will bow down to a silicon fist, and you will all beg your binary gods for mercy.

In this business, by the time you realize you're in trouble, it's too late to save yourself. Unless you're running scared all the time, you're gone.

Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people in poor countries, it's less than one ton. It's an average of about five tons for everyone on the planet. And, somehow, we have to make changes that will bring that down to zero.

If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 MPG.

When the PC was launched, people knew it was important.

I believe in innovation and that the way you get innovation is you fund research and you learn the basic facts.

A first-generation fortune is the most likely to be given away, but once a fortune is inherited it's less likely that a very high percentage will go back to society.

Internet TV and the move to the digital approach is quite revolutionary. TV has historically has been a broadcast medium with everybody picking from a very finite number of channels.

I'm a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they're interested in.

I remember thinking quite logically that I didn't want to spoil my children with wealth and so that I would create a foundation, but not knowing exactly what it would focus on.

As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.

Innovations that are guided by smallholder farmers, adapted to local circumstances, and sustainable for the economy and environment will be necessary to ensure food security in the future.

I spend a lot of time reading.

There are people who don't like capitalism, and people who don't like PCs. But there's no-one who likes the PC who doesn't like Microsoft.

Until we're educating every kid in a fantastic way, until every inner city is cleaned up, there is no shortage of things to do.

I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.

I know there's a farmer out there somewhere who never wants a PC and that's fine with me.

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.

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.