Microsoft founder Bill Gates recently appeared on Nikhil Kamath’s WTF podcast, where he candidly spoke about his typically hectic trips to India, and his hopes to slow things down in the future.
Kamath jokingly asked, “You’re always in a hurry when you’re in India. It’s so much nicer to spend time with you when you’re not in India. Why is that?”
Gates responded with a smile, “Well, I’ll organise some of my trips where I take time off here. You know, next year we’re talking about that I’ll go up to Assam, and they tell me that’s pretty nice. So hopefully I’ll schedule a couple days for just pure relaxation. But when I’m working, you know, it’s great to see there’s so many new innovators here. We did manage to pack the schedule. You know, there’s a lot of ministries that we have partnerships with. I think I saw more ministers this time than ever before, but they were all great meetings. It’s been a fun trip.”
Tech titans becoming more relatable?
The conversation shifted gears as Kamath discussed how today’s tech leaders are evolving from distant, larger-than-life figures into more grounded, relatable personalities. He pointed out how Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent image makeover—from corporate executive to sporty, family man—may be part of a broader strategy to humanise tech billionaires.
But Gates doesn’t see it as a PR move. He believes Zuckerberg’s shift is heartfelt and sincere.
“I think he’s being genuine. He’s a great family person. The people who get to know you are either your family or the people who work with you very closely. I think of Mark as a pretty normal person, actually. He’s got a great wife, very serious about his kids,” Gates shared.
Watch the full episode here:
Gates on wealth, inheritance, and parenting
Earlier, Gates had stirred global discussion by revealing that he plans to leave just 1% of his $162 billion fortune to his children. Speaking on Raj Shamani’s Figuring Out podcast, Gates explained his reasoning behind the unconventional decision.
“Everybody gets to decide on that. In my case my kids got a great upbringing and education but less than 1% of the total wealth because I decided it wouldn’t be a favour to them. It’s not a dynasty, I’m not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success,” he said.
He added, “You don’t want your kids to ever be confused about your support for them and your love for them. So I do think explaining early on your philosophy: that you’re going to treat them all equally and that you’re gonna give them incredible opportunities, but that the highest calling for these resources is to go back to the neediest through the foundation.”
