From Microsoft's Rise To A Moment of Reckoning In a September 2019 post on Gates Notes, the Microsoft co-founder reflected on how his outlook shifted in his mid-40s after years at Microsoft, particularly during the strain of the U. Although he stepped down as CEO in 2000 to refocus on software, his interests were already expanding beyond the company he co-founded. At the same time, Gates and Melinda French Gates were becoming deeply involved in their foundation's work, focusing on U. Gates immersed himself in learning about infectious diseases, vaccines and public health challenges in low-income countries, subjects far removed from software code. A Growing Commitment To Global Health The couple transferred roughly $20 billion in Microsoft stock to their foundation, making it the world's largest philanthropic organization at the time, Gates wrote. Gates soon traveled internationally, including a trip to India, where he witnessed polio vaccinations firsthand, while Melinda studied AIDS p...