Today, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Gates announced a contribution of $750 million to the fund. Gates issued a legally binding promissory note that covers his future contributions up until 2016. The Global Fun explains it further:

The Global Fund must have enough cash in the bank to cover all signed grants, regardless of the pay-out date. A promissory note also counts as cash in the bank, immediately increasing the amount of funds available for grants.

If the Foundation had renewed its $500 million 2006-2011 cash commitment, $100 million per year for five years would have been made available to the Global Fund. With a promissory note, $750 million is available immediately for the Global Fund to continue its lifesaving programs.

The Gates Foundation had previously put $650 million into the fund.

“These are tough economic times, but that is no excuse for cutting aid to the world’s poorest. The Global Fund is one of the most effective ways we invest our money every year,” said Gates.

Bill Gates, working with his wife through the Gates Foundation, is one of the most charitable people in the world, having given nearly half his net worth to charity. As of 2007, Bill and Melinda Gates have given $28 billion to charity. In fact, check out this infographic to learn more about why Bill Gates is better than Batman.

Gates was quoted last year as saying:

I can understand wanting to have millions of dollars, there’s a certain freedom, meaningful freedom, that comes with that. But once you get much beyond that, I have to tell you, it’s the same hamburger. Dick’s (a fast food chain) has not raised their prices enough.

But being ambitious is good. You just have to pick what you enjoy doing.

Bill Gates continues to give a lot of his hamburger away, and organizations like the Global Fund couldn’t be more thrilled.

This donation comes during the 10th anniversary celebration of the Fund itself. They’ve put out this short video, highlighting the past decade:

[Lead Image Courtesy some Good Guy Gates meme I saw on reddit awhile back and have probably mangled]

It’s called “Redefining Action Hero: Bill Gates is Better than Batman.” Frugal Dad had this to say on it:

I have a lot of respect for Bill Gates. Not just because he’s been wildly successful, but because as far as I can understand, he’s kept a steady head about him in spite of his success. As one of the wealthiest men in the world, he’s also making a name for himself as one of the most philanthropic.

Obviously most of us don’t have the kind of capital that Bill Gates has to work with, but I feel that everyone could learn from his philosophy towards philanthropy. I admire that his approach is both compassionate and practical. He sees charitable endeavors as something well worth investing in, because ultimately everyone benefits from an overall better quality of life around the world. He sums it up himself pretty well: “[The] hybrid engine of self-interest and concern for others can serve a much wider circle of people than can be reached by self-interest or caring alone.” I feel like that’s a refreshingly balanced philosophy. Not only that, but as this Infographic shows, there are direct results that speak to just how powerful a well-informed and carefully invested philanthropist can be.

Source: frugaldad.com

I won’t make any jabs at Steve Jobs out of respect, but Bill Gates is a pretty amazing person. I think it’s about time he gets credited for all the amazing philanthropy work he has done.

Earlier this month rumors began to circulate that Gates was considering returning to the helm of Microsoft, but Gates was quick to dismiss any speculation on the subject. He denied the rumors and restated his devotion to work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation “full-time.” He said that, although he does still maintain contacts within Microsoft, he considered his involvement to be limited to giving advice as the “foundation requires all of [his] energy.” He went on to share his enthusiasm about working alongside scientists and other experts and being able to appreciate the impact that the Foundation has had. But alas, he is not “keen on going back to the old job.”

A certain Boo Berry out there probably cackled with delight at that news. And speaking of Steve Jobs, Lester brought up some barbed criticisms that the late Apple boss had made about Gates. He took Jobs’ pugnacious words in stride, though, and said that Jobs was probably tough on Microsoft because they consistently outsold Apple machines. Gates remained diplomatic with his comments on Jobs – the guy just died and people still revere him as if he hung the moon, so can you blame Gates for treading carefully through this thicket? The slightest cross word about Jobs would probably result in Gates being iTar-and-feathered – and acknowledged that Jobs was a “brilliant person” who he enjoyed both working with and competing against.

In what was probably one of the more enjoyably awkward moments of the interview, Lester asked Gates if he used any of the Apple products such as the iPhone. Gates was steadfast with his allegiance to Microsoft and assured Lester that “there are fantastic Windows phones” and that he is “the most avid Microsoft user you’ll meet.” Lester joked that he was going to ask Gates to get out his phone to prove he wasn’t an iPhone user, but Gates waved it off.

The article component to this interview revisits the clash of the computer titans. Gates and Jobs have gone back and forth at each other over the years, so this rehash of their rivalry isn’t really anything new (and nothing new was really said here). The full interview, however, will be published tomorrow in the Sydney Morning Herald.

On Thursday, Bill Gates appeared at the University of Washington to talk to students. He visited the Computer Science & Engineering Department and discussed the evolution of computing, and its global impact.

He also dropped this quote, and it’s been making the internet rounds today (courtesy of GeekWire):

I can understand wanting to have millions of dollars, there’s a certain freedom, meaningful freedom, that comes with that. But once you get much beyond that, I have to tell you, it’s the same hamburger. Dick’s (a fast food chain) has not raised their prices enough.

But being ambitious is good. You just have to pick what you enjoy doing.

Some on the web are saying that Bill Gates is telling students not to strive to be billionaires. I don’t quite see it that way.

I’m no billionaire. I’m also no millionaire. When I’m lucky, I’m a thousandaire. But I can see Gates’ point. Once you reach a certain point of wealth where you can afford anything you want, everything else is icing on the cake.

Unless of course “everything you want” involves things that cost billions of dollars. But that’s a pretty rare scenario.

Maybe this quote from Gates is an insight into why he’s so philanthropic. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the biggest transparently-operated private foundation in the world. Its charitable donations and various programs total hundreds of millions – even billions of dollars a year. I guess Bill Gates knows that his life isn’t going to be much different with 60 billion dollars as opposed to 40 billion dollars.

In other Bill Gates news – today, October 28th, is his birthday. He turns 56.

What do you think about Gates’ comments on wealth and ambition? Let us know in the comments.

Among the more juicy nuggets are some words from both Jobs and Bill Gates about one another. According to the Huffington Post, Gates is quoted as calling Jobs “fundamentally odd,” and “weirdly flawed as a human being,” and that he had a tendency to be “either in the mode of saying you were shit or trying to seduce you.”

Gates is also quoted as saying, “He really never knew about technology, but he had an amazing instinct for what works.”

Jobs is quoted as saying about Gates, “He’d be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger,” and “Bill is basically unimaginative and has never invented anything, which is why I think he’s more comfortable now in philanthropy than technology. He just shamelessly ripped off other people’s ideas.”

When news came out about Steve’s death, Bill Gates issues a statement saying:

I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.

For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.

For more daily video round-ups, go here.

See Bill Gates leap a chair in a single bound.

See how Google’s Prediction API works, it’s pretty neat.

Have you heard that utterly atrocious song by Maroon 5 “Moves Like Jagger”? If you haven’t consider yourself lucky. If you’re amongst the poor bastards that have, you might find some humor in this video, as it’s a parody entitled “Moves Like Jabba”.

Here is a video about how GNC decided to go mobile and their decision to utilize Google Commerce Search)

Google has changed the way their approach working with developers… they show you how with a pop-up book. Well played Google, well played.

A guy conducts several iPhone 4S vs Galaxy SII tests. Let the arguing commence between the fanboys… Go!

With Jobs’ passing this evening, Gates has issued a statement:

I’m truly saddened to learn of Steve Jobs’ death. Melinda and I extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends, and to everyone Steve has touched through his work.

Steve and I first met nearly 30 years ago, and have been colleagues, competitors and friends over the course of more than half our lives.

The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.

For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.

You can see that Gates had immense respect for Jobs, a man who changed the way all of us live and the way all of us interact with the technology that powers our lives. Jobs was 56.

Here’s a video of the two making a rare joint appearance at the All Things Digital D5 conference a few years ago –

View other daily video round-ups here.

Here’s the commercial for the new Amazon Kindle Fire:

Business Insider shares this clip of a demo on how Amazon Instant works on the Kindle Fire:

And here’s Amazon talking about Silk, its new browser on the Kindle Fire:

Google CEO Larry Page and former CEO (current Executive Chairman) Eric Schmidt talk at Zeitgeist:

Madmen’s Don Draper pitches the Facebook Timeline:

Andy Rooney is retiring. Watch this clip where he rips Bill Gates and Windows

Thundercats Meet Internet memes:

Google shares a tour of the “world’s largest intact forest”:

BoingBoing is pointing to this video made from old comic images found online:

Google has launched new ways for Internet users to view Blogger blogs:

But now Gates is back at the top, even though he’s technically no longer with Microsoft. Keeping those common stocks was clearly a good idea. According to the newest list from Forbes, Gates’ worth is $59 billion, which is $20 billion more than the second place entry, Warren Buffet. Beyond that, however, is the sheer amount of tech industry mavens are on the Forbes list. In fact, the top 20 or so is absolutely littered with people who made their money with the computers and/or the Internet.

Some examples include:

• Larry Ellison, co-founder and CEO of Oracle, is in fourth place with $33 billion
• Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is in 13th place with $19.1 billion
• Mark Zuckerberg ($17.5 B), Sergey Brin ($16.7 B), and Larry Page ($16.7 B) follow Bezos at 14, 15, and 16
• Michael Dell comes in at 18th with a worth of $15 billion
• Steve Ballmer follows Dell at 19 with $13.9 billion

Clearly, the lesson for all you youngsters wondering what field you should study is to look towards the computer/tech industry. It can make a billionaire out of you. Oddly enough, the last place person on Forbes’ list is Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. While Snyder may not have the net worth of the people in front of him, he’s still worth over $1 billion, something I’m sure will manage to keep him warm at night.

And for all those worried about Yahoo, Jerry Yang, co-founder and ex-CEO of Yahoo, is also on the list with a worth of $1.1 billion.