"You know, development sometimes is viewed as..." - Quote by Bill Gates
You know, development sometimes is viewed as a project in which you give people things and nothing much happens, which is perfectly valid, but if you just focus on that, then you'd also have to say that venture capital is pretty stupid, too. Its hit rate is pathetic. But occasionally, you get successes, you fund a Google or something, and suddenly venture capital is vaunted as the most amazing field of all time. Our hit rate in development is better than theirs, but we should strive to make it better.
More by Bill Gates
“To win big, you sometimes have to take big risks.”
“Personally, I'd like to see more of our leaders take a technocratic approach to solving our biggest problems.”
“The government is somewhat inept, but the private sector is inept in general. How many companies do venture capitalists invest in that go poorly? By far most of them. However, every once in a while a Google or a Microsoft comes out, so people keep giving them money.”
More on Development
“Never have ideas about children, and never have ideas for them.”
“It was necessary, temporarily, to limit certain requirements, accumulate necessary means, strain forces. We acted precisely in this way and built a socialist society.”
“People have a seed to success within them. Most never find it and therefore fail to reach their potential. Occasionally, a leader discovers it and helps that individual develop it. For both, they now can fulfill the purpose for which they are born.”
More on Philanthropy
“I realized about 10 years ago that my wealth has to go back to society. A fortune, the size of which is hard to imagine, is best not passed on to one's children. It's not constructive for them.”
“The best philanthropy is constantly in search of the finalities-a search for a cause, an attempt to cure evils at their source.”
“In all the ages, three-fourths of the support of the great charities has been conscience money.”