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William Henry Gates III (to some known as Bill) has retired from Microsoft as you probably well know by now.

Gates who will remain chairman, has left a huge mark on the technology world and the world in general, and has inspired many, many others to dream of just accomplishing a small fraction of what he has.

He is one of the wealthiest men in the world, and that is not only boiled down to money. He has earned an enormous amount of respect alongside that sweet, sweet dough. While he and Microsoft have more than their fair share of critics, there is no denying the impact that they have had.

Here's what some of his admirers around the Internet are saying as he starts his new life with less Microsoft in it.

Zoomr CEO Thomas Hawk:

Gates serves as a strong example for what the rich ought to do with their wealth. The $37.5 billion that currently sits in the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to be used for philanthropic efforts is admirable and commendable. Gates serves as a strong example of what other of the wealthy might and could do to make the world a better place.

Dreisinger at IT World:

Gates is not only a workaholic, but someone who loves his company more than any other CEO I've ever seen and has a competitive streak that's second to none. If it weren't for Google and Apple, he would have been gone a long time ago.

Rob Pegoraro at Washington Post:

How do you sum up 33 years spent building the world's largest software company? What accomplishments do you highlight? What topics are best avoided for the sake of politeness?

Lain Thomson at vnunet.com:

We wouldn’t have the computing industry we have today without Microsoft. Having a single operating system dominating the personal computer market has meant that scores of software developers had a consistent set of standards to work with and a mass market to sell their products in.

This has led to much dislike of Gates by some but without it we’d have a hodgepodge of competing operating systems with small but distinct ghettos of software developers and users.

Joseph Menn at the LA Times:

As Bill Gates leaves full-time work as chairman of Microsoft today, he can look back on one of the most extraordinary careers in the annals of business -- a rise from college dropout to world's wealthiest individual.

The quotes could go on and on. Obviously not all of the commentary on Bill is positive, and you can probably find just as many critical articles about him and the company he is leaving behind (though not entirely), but I won't get into all of that here. I will simply give credit where credit is due and wish him a happy retirement, and be comfortable in the feeling that he will be using that time and his fortune to help others less fortunate.