To add to the ranks of people who we could never actually interview, the person that I’m most curious about is Bill Gates. I have to admit that a lot of this curiosity stems from growing up in Seattle–you can take boat tours where you cruise right past his giant estate, and he’s always in the newsapapers–but I think I’d be curious about him even if I didn’t live there. I’m not sure if he’s the world’s wealthiest person at the moment (this title seems to fluctuate with the economy), but he’s definitely up there, and I’ve always been curious about the ways that wealthy people spend their money.
Consider it this way: Bill Gates could buy anything he wanted. Bill Gates could have giant mansions in every country, or probably even buy his own country if he really wanted to. The other Microsoft millionaire in the area, Paul Allen, has bought multiple sports teams, one of the world’s largest yachts, and funded random museums about things like Jimi Hendrix and science fiction. But what does Bill Gates do with his money? With a few minor exceptions, he gives it all away. Seriously, all of it. He’s said he doesn’t want to leave large sums to his kids (although I think the assests alone would set them up pretty well). The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the largest private philanthropic organizations in the world, and it’s known for taking on serious healthcare problems in innovative ways.
I have to go on a random tangent here to describe Bill Gates’ one indulgence: his house. It’s a huge estate on Lake Washington with multiple buildings and parking garages, and yet most of the house is actually underground. As you would expect, it’s full of cutting-edge technology: every occupant and regular visitor wears a pin that automatically adjusts the lighting and temperature conditions in each room, and the digital artwork adjusts to your preferences. However, it’s also full of some really random things, like the trampoline room. Yeah, Bill Gates has a trampoline room. It’s the only room in the house that doesn’t have a window or a skylight.
So, to recap: the guy’s a genius, makes a shitload of money off it, and then decides to give most of it away (except to finance a trampoline room). I’m not sure I’d actually want to interview him–apparently he is really rude and gives one word answers unless the interviewer adequately demonstrates a high level of intelligence–but I’m still curious about what goes on inside his head. I’ve always wondered if he really wanted to give all that money away or if public pressure convinced him to do it. Maybe he just has so much money that he can do anything he ever wanted and still give most of it away, I don’t know, but I sure wish I could get behind the publicity statements and find out. Too bad his entire house is covered in video cameras, floor sensors, and laser detection networks–I’d say his private life is pretty well out of the picture.
