Bill Gates has never been and will never be recognized as a visionary and esthete, a legacy that belongs to the late Steve Jobs. The former Microsoft CEO is rather admired for being a ruthless executive in times when personal computing was synonymous with Windows, as well as a huge second act as a philanthropist in the company of his wife Melinda.
Jobs, unlike Gates, was not known for public donations to charity and it is even considered in certain documents (such as the biography of Jobs by Walter Isaacson) that he was not very enthusiastic about such works. His widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, has taken a different path by launching the Emerson Foundation - among other initiatives - and supporting progressive journalism by buying The Atlantic.
Either way, there were qualities that Gates admired in Jobs. Read at ID Agency (via BBC):
While in recent years Gates highlighted the leadership ability of Jobs, who died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer, he had never openly confessed what attribute he most admires as a former competitor: Jobs's ability to speak in front of people.
“I am not a preacher. I've learned a bit about public speaking, ”Gates said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.
"I have reached an acceptable level in a sense," added the businessman, but at the same time acknowledged that "Steve Jobs was always more natural in that."
"I could completely fascinate the people who were in the auditorium," he added.
"I wish I could be as magical (as he is) because I have causes that are somehow more shocking and I need to make sure they are not ignored."
These statements were given in the context of the new Netflix documentary about Gates.
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