The world's wealthiest man Bill Gates would still pick up a $100 bill on the street, but he has no tips about how to get by on less than $100,000 a year.
Oh, and the 58-year-old Microsoft co-founder says he can still leap over a chair, if it is a small one.
Those and other insights came as Gates fielded questions on Monday in an online chat session at social news website Reddit.com.
Along with playful personal perspectives, Gates shared thoughts on philanthropy, government snooping, and his return to a hands-on role at Microsoft to assist newly-appointed chief executive Satya Nadella.
"Satya is taking a fresh view of where Microsoft is -- strengths and weaknesses," Gates said .
"A new person gets to step back and change the focus in some ways. He is off to a great start."
Gates noted that he doesn't plan to stay at the office for days at a time as he did in his younger days when he had "energy and naivete" on his side.
He expected to give about a third of his work time to Microsoft, and the remaining two-thirds to the philanthropic foundation he runs with his wife.
He dismissed the notion of being the biggest philanthropist, contending that while he gives a lot of money to charitable causes, aid workers living in difficult conditions sacrifice more than he does.
When asked his thoughts on US spy agencies snooping on computer use, Gates described it as a 'complex' issue that will grow in importance as cameras and sensors in devices collect more information about users.
"We need to have trust in the way information is protected and gathered," Gates said.
"There is a role for the government to try and stop crime and terrorism but it will have to be more open."
He confided that his most expensive guilty pleasure purchase was a plane, quickly adding that it has been indispensible for travel in connection with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
He said he really enjoys the old-fashioned card game Bridge, leaving most of the videogame play on the home Microsoft Xbox console to his son.
Gates said he also cleans the dinner dishes every night, because he likes the way he does it.
综合外国媒体报道,当地时间2月10日,世界首富比尔•盖茨参加了一个社交资讯网站举办的“随便问”活动,在线回答网友提问。
“如果地上有100块钱,你会捡吗?”“当然会捡。但我不知道年收入10万美元以下要怎么生活。”这位58岁的微软创始人表示,他现在还能玩跳山羊的游戏,“只要‘山羊’不太高就行”。
除了上述有趣的个人观点,盖茨还就慈善事业、美国政府监控项目以及他重回微软等事与网友交流看法和意见。
“对于微软的优势和不足,
盖茨认为,尽管捐了很多钱给慈善事业,但他并不是世界上最大的慈善家,“那些身处困境的救援人员作出的牺牲比我大得多”。
当被问及如何看待美国情报机构监控互联网用户时,盖茨回答称:“这是一件很复杂的事情。随着摄像头和传感器搜集了越来越多的用户信息,此事的重要性将愈加凸显。我们要相信信息得到了妥善的保护,但政府的所作所为也要变得更加公开。”
此外,盖茨还透露,他买过的最贵私人物品是一架飞机,但这架飞机如今已经成为“比尔和梅琳达•盖茨基金会”不可或缺的出行工具。至于最爱的游戏,盖茨说他真的很喜欢老式的纸牌游戏桥牌,Xbox上的电子游戏则是留给儿子玩的。
而且,盖茨还是个不折不扣的居家好男人,每天吃过晚餐后,他都会主动刷碗,“因为我喜欢自己洗碗的方式”。
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