It gave me great joy to read about Bill Gates today, giving an exclusive interview to James Quinn of The Telegraph about his committment to giving to the developing world. Mr Gates is the second richest man in the world with a fortune of US$53 billion. Having spent 30 years of his life building Microsoft, which has to be one of the most significant, most contributing companies of all time, he now spends most of his time giving back to the world. As if he hasn’t already contributed enough with his genius and talent as a visionary and business leader, he is now ‘on a one man mission to remind the countries of the developed world about their respective commitments to reach the United Nations’ target of spending 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product on overseas development by 2013′. Here is one man who is using his wealth the the financial freedom he has created for best purpose.
My point is this… when you have become the world’s second richest person through your success in business you are in a very powerful position. You have the wealth, the time and the freedom to make a significant difference to our world. I strongly believe that if one of your driving reasons for wanting to be financially free is to give back, to make a difference and leave a mark on this planet that is uniquely yours, then your chances of achieving that financial freedom will be magnified beyond what most business owners ever achieve. This supports Point 10 in my Traits of the Rich & Free list – Give Back – the world’s most successful business people are driven by a desire to add value to the world around them.