21 Bill Gates Quotes on Success and Life

Bill Gates at a Senate hearing in Washington on March 26, 2015.

Andrew Harrer—Bloomberg/Getty Images

September 10, 2015 6:14 PM EDT

Bill Gates’ personal net worth — an estimated $80 billion — rivals the GDP of Ecuador and tops Croatia’s.

The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, which he and his wife set up in 1997, gives away nearly $4 billion a year.

In 2013, The Financial Times wrote that “Gates probably now has the power to affect the lives and well-being of a larger number of his fellow humans than any other private individual in history.”

How did the world’s wealthiest man get to where he is today? Gathered from 20 years of interviews, these quotes show how Gates grew from startup nerd to software titan to history-shifting activist.

Contact us at letters@time.com.

On the Journey So Far

— Rolling Stone, March 13, 2014

On Why Microsoft Succeeded

— BBC, June 19, 2008

On Collaborating With Apple Early On

— AllThingsD, May 31, 2007

On Microsoft's Growth

— AllThingsD, May 31, 2007

On Enjoying the Less-World-Changing Stuff

— Reddit, February 10, 2014

On Success

— The Road Ahead, 1995

On His Guilty Pleasure

— Reddit, Feb. 10, 2014

On the Role of Technology

— The Financial Times, Nov. 1, 2013

On Why He Wants to 'Eradicate' Diseases

The Financial Times, Nov. 1, 2013

On the Role of Money

— The Telegraph U.K., Jan. 18, 2013

On His Life's Work

— AllThingsD, May 31, 2007

On Government

— Rolling Stone, March 13, 2014

On Development Versus Venture Capital

— Rolling Stone, March 13, 2014

On the Value of Unhappy Customers

— Forbes, March 4, 2014

On Competition

— Infoworld, Oct. 1, 2004

On His Place in the Universe

— TIME, Jan. 13, 1997

On Intellectual Property

— Seattle Post Intelligencer, July 7, 2011

On Being in Business

— Playboy, July 1994

On the Limits of Capitalism

— TED Talk, February 2009

On the Importance of Innovation

— Rolling Stone, March 13, 2014

This article originally appeared on Business Insider

21 Insightful Quotes From Bill Gates

On the Journey So Far

On Why Microsoft Succeeded

On Collaborating With Apple Early On

On Microsoft's Growth

On Enjoying the Less-World-Changing Stuff

On Success

On His Guilty Pleasure

On the Role of Technology

On Why He Wants to 'Eradicate' Diseases

On the Role of Money

On His Life's Work

On Government

On Development Versus Venture Capital

On the Value of Unhappy Customers

On Competition

On His Place in the Universe

On Intellectual Property

On Being in Business

On the Limits of Capitalism

On the Importance of Innovation

Read More From TIME

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21 Insightful Quotes From Bill Gates

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Thank you!

On the Journey So Far

On Why Microsoft Succeeded

On Collaborating With Apple Early On

On Microsoft's Growth

On Enjoying the Less-World-Changing Stuff

On Success

On His Guilty Pleasure

On the Role of Technology

On Why He Wants to 'Eradicate' Diseases

On the Role of Money

On His Life's Work

On Government

On Development Versus Venture Capital

On the Value of Unhappy Customers

On Competition

On His Place in the Universe

On Intellectual Property

On Being in Business

On the Limits of Capitalism

On the Importance of Innovation

Read More From TIME

Related Stories