Rick Friedman/Corbis

Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Chairman, Microsoft Corp.
Location Redmond, WA
Age 50
College Class of 1977*

The richest man in the world has changed the rules of giving. It wasn’t enough to shape the modern workplace; the notoriously competitive, paradoxically self-effacing Gates seems determined to show that not only is his brain bigger than yours—his heart is, too. The result is private philanthropy on a global scale, made possible for the first time by the sheer size of the figures involved. Controversial causes, like AIDS in Africa, are no longer taboo; ceding the limelight to professional limelight-seekers, like Bono and Bill Clinton, is part of the deal. Warren Buffett’s June announcement confirmed the paradigm shift: The select few and unimaginably rich of the Western world seem to feel innately responsible for the poor around the globe.

However… Microsoft’s detractors decry Gates for his company’s hegemony; its stockholders bemoan the company’s woeful performance over the past five years. But that all seems petty weighed against the millions of lives he’s helping to save. We’re even tempted not to mention the blue screen of death.

Google hits Don’t you mean MSN Search hits? 3.6 million for “Bill Gates”; 4,010 for “Harvard dropout”