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    Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World

    Written by: Faris Rasul
    Posted on: September 19, 2024 | | 中文

    Bill Gates and Chinese President Xi Jinping

    Anupreeta Das' book on Bill Gates titled Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World is a good read. The author charts the journey of what were the seventies like, the inception of Microsoft, the gimmicks of Gates and how Allen was duped by Gates with under-selling his shares out. Das ably brings to life the time when technology-defined startups were getting into play: Oracle of Ellison and many others. The 80s and 90s were a decade of technological revolution, with people coming into the fold of the Silicon Valley in hordes: against this backdrop Gates became the youngest billionaire at the age of 31 in 1987, as the Microsoft went for the Initial Public Offering (IPO).

    Young Bill Gates

    Das talks in detail about how Gates was able to work his way around business licensing and was business-savvy from the word go. He was able to make perspicacious decisions that were fundamental to his success. She also talks at length of how the word 'nerd' came to be in popular culture: like 'dusty glasses, slouched posture', which came to characterize Gates or 'eating messy sandwiches in board meetings' that came to define Netscape's Andreessen in the eighties. Das sets out to bust some myths too. She rebuts many claims like the overarching sense of innovation and ambition as being the sole reasons for successes in the Silicon Valley: subsidies to Stanford University helped nurture technologies back in the day, lower interest rates enabled big investors to pour money into vulnerable assets, the development of GPS during the Cold War helped to create a conducive atmosphere for many of these tech companies.

    Anupreeta Das

    Das later comments on the stereotyping of nerds in popular culture, in line with Gates' own demeanor; nerds came to be associated with being out of sync with the mainstream culture at large, computer-savvy and socially awkward. This is seen as being reinforced in movies and sitcoms like Revenge of the Nerds, The Big Bang Theory and Silicon Valley amongst others. As we move on, there is also a mention of the 'male-centric' culture in the Silicon Valley, and how women still have to 'play with the boys' to get a footing in the ecosystem, as more than 90 percent of venture capital funding is given to men, and women are bound to own less equity in companies. Das quotes Margaret O'Mara, a historian of Silicon Valley, saying of the tech-business culture as 'intensely masculine'. Das also writes about the monopolistic behavior that was at work in Microsoft and how it seemed, at times, hell-bent in crushing the competition and maximizing its own clout. She quotes James Clark of the Netscape on the contradictory disposition of Gates, 'For all his nerdy ways and offbeat charm for the press, I feel Bill Gates is happiest when he is crushing the life out of companies that dare establish territory on the borders of Microsoft's sprawling dominion'. Nineties were also a time of greater anti-trust motions against Microsoft's expansive ambitions; with the company either elbowing out or buying the businesses outright. Das gives an example of the Intuit, a financial software company, which resisted a buyout from Microsoft and held its own against its bullying.

    Jim Yong Kim, the former president of the World Bank, with Bill Gates

    In one of the last chapters entitled 'Cancel Bill', Das reproaches Gates over his closeness with Epstein and recounts his 'visibly shifty' demeanor in an interview with Judy Woodruff in 2021, about being asked about the same, which he blamed on his 'lapse of judgement'. Das writes about how there were many shuffles in the moneyed world of corporate America from Barclays president losing his job to Harvard University shutting down an 'evolutionary dynamics' program and revising its donor policies after a funding by Epstein in 2020. In the same chapter, the bulge of conspiracy theories about Gates during COVID-19 are also discussed, and how his TED talk titled as 'The Next Outbreak? We Are Not Ready' delivered in 2015 came to haunt him in the pandemic. Due to his prior knowledge about such an emergency, and the study that was mutually carried out by MIT and Gates Foundation over storing vaccine information under the skin, in a microchip for better digital certification.

    Bill Gates with his kids and ex-wife

    Das' latest book brings out the many contradictions of Gates, and makes us question his supposed saintliness that he's been able to project over the decades. This stands in complete contrast to the 'terrifying' work culture at his own foundation, as Das reveals in the book, which has been effective in areas ranging from healthcare to poverty alleviation since 2000. Spanning over 328 pages, the book makes for an informative read and deserves to be in everyone's reading list.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021