Bill Gates
Co-founder of Microsoft and of the Gates Foundation. Writes Gates Notes on global health, energy and climate, and on whatever they have been reading.
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What they believe
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Clear goals plus a measure that drives progress toward them can achieve amazing progress, yet this is surprisingly rarely done well
You can achieve amazing progress if you set a clear goal and find a measure that will drive progress toward that goal-in a feedback loop similar to the one Rosen describes. This may seem pretty basic, but it is amazing to me how often it is not done and how hard it is to get right.
gatesfoundation.orgSaid c. 2013This on korrents
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Society underinvests in innovation, especially in innovations that would mostly benefit the poor, who cannot generate market demand
Society underinvests in innovation in general but particularly in two important areas. One area is innovations that would mostly benefit poor people—there is too little investment here because the poor can’t generate a market demand.
gatesfoundation.orgSaid c. 2010This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
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25 November 2025
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Recommendsrcmnd.app
Clearing the AirTheir words
If you want a book that explains the climate challenge without doom or denial, Clearing the Air is a must-read.
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Recommendsrcmnd.app
Remarkably Bright CreaturesTheir words
I think anyone who enjoys fiction would enjoy this book, but it’s a must-read for people who grew up in Western Washington like I did.
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Recommendsrcmnd.app
When Everyone Knows That Everyone KnowsTheir words
If you are interested in learning more about how humans communicate and work together, I highly recommend reading When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows.
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Likedrcmnd.app
Who KnewTheir words
This part of Who Knew is raw and honest in a way most business memoirs usually aren’t.
6 September 2025
26 July 2025
23 July 2025
15 July 2025
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Likedrcmnd.app
Everything Is TuberculosisTheir words
Everything Is Tuberculosis is poignant, smart, and at times infuriating.
11 July 2025
3 July 2025
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 8 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Clear goals plus a measure that drives progress toward them can achieve amazing progress, yet this is surprisingly rarely done well
You can achieve amazing progress if you set a clear goal and find a measure that will drive progress toward that goal-in a feedback loop similar to the one Rosen describes. This may seem pretty basic, but it is amazing to me how often it is not done and how hard it is to get right.
2013 Annual Letter: Measuring Progress Said c. 2013
Many efforts fail because they do not focus on the right measure or do not invest enough in measuring accurately
I think a lot of efforts fail because they don't focus on the right measure or they don't invest enough in doing it accurately.
2013 Annual Letter: Measuring Progress Said c. 2013
With tight budgets, governments rightly demand effective programs, which requires better tools to measure what works
Given how tight budgets are around the world, governments are rightfully demanding effectiveness in the programs they pay for. To address these demands, we need better measurement tools to determine which approaches work and which do not.
2013 Annual Letter: Measuring Progress Said c. 2013
Show 5 more
The most critical change for US K-12 education is well-funded, high-quality teacher feedback systems that teachers trust
I think the most critical change we can make in U.S. K-12 education is to create teacher feedback systems like the one in Eagle County that are properly funded, high quality, and trusted by teachers.
2013 Annual Letter: Measuring Progress Said c. 2013
Society underinvests in innovation, especially in innovations that would mostly benefit the poor, who cannot generate market demand
Society underinvests in innovation in general but particularly in two important areas. One area is innovations that would mostly benefit poor people—there is too little investment here because the poor can’t generate a market demand.
2010 Annual Letter Said c. 2010
Rich governments need to spend more on research and development, and health and education need better measurement
Although innovation is unpredictable, there is a lot that governments, private companies, and foundations can do to accelerate it. Rich governments need to spend more on research and development, for instance, and we need better measurement systems in health and education to determine what works.
2010 Annual Letter Said c. 2010
Innovation moves faster when different parties build on each other's work and avoid repeating each other's dead ends
Innovation proceeds more rapidly when different parties can build on each other’s work and avoid going down the same dead end that others have gone down.
2010 Annual Letter Said c. 2010
Online education should aim for at least one great course per subject rather than many mediocre ones
We should focus on having at least one great course online for each subject rather than lots of mediocre courses.
2010 Annual Letter Said c. 2010
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
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Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 60 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Liked Who Knew
This part of Who Knew is raw and honest in a way most business memoirs usually aren’t.
gatesnotes.com 25 Nov 2025
Recommends When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows
If you are interested in learning more about how humans communicate and work together, I highly recommend reading When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows.
gatesnotes.com 25 Nov 2025
What others say about When Everyone Knows That Everyone Knows →
Recommends Remarkably Bright Creatures
I think anyone who enjoys fiction would enjoy this book, but it’s a must-read for people who grew up in Western Washington like I did.
gatesnotes.com 25 Nov 2025
Show 57 more
Recommends Clearing the Air
If you want a book that explains the climate challenge without doom or denial, Clearing the Air is a must-read.
gatesnotes.com 25 Nov 2025
Liked Everything Is Tuberculosis
Everything Is Tuberculosis is poignant, smart, and at times infuriating.
gatesnotes.com 15 Jul 2025
Loved Personal History
That story is told in her riveting memoir Personal History, which came out in 1997—just a few years before she passed away—and won the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
gatesnotes.com 22 May 2025
Liked Chasing Hope
Chasing Hope made me think a lot about what kind of person chooses to run toward the hardest problems—and keep going back until they’re solved.
gatesnotes.com 22 May 2025
Liked How to Feed the World
How to Feed the World had a lot to teach me—and I’m sure it will teach you a lot, too.
gatesnotes.com 4 Mar 2025
Loved The Coming Wave
Most of the coverage of The Coming Wave has focused on what it has to say about artificial intelligence—which makes sense, given that it's one of the most important books on AI ever written.
gatesnotes.com 3 Dec 2024
Recommends The Anxious Generation
The Anxious Generation is a must-read for anyone raising, working with, or teaching young people today.
gatesnotes.com 3 Dec 2024
Liked Engineering in Plain Sight
One of the coolest aspects of Engineering in Plain Sight is how it ties everyday observations to larger engineering principles.
gatesnotes.com 3 Dec 2024
Recommends An Unfinished Love Story
Whether you already know a lot about the ’60s or you’re just dipping your toe into those waters, whether you want a deep dive into the art of political writing or a charming story about a married couple who adored each other, you’ll get it from An Unfinished Love Story.
gatesnotes.com 3 Dec 2024
Loved The Women
This terrific novel tells the story of Frankie McGrath, an army nurse who serves two tours on the frontlines in Vietnam before returning home to a country rocked by protest and anti-war sentiment.
gatesnotes.com 21 May 2024
Recommends Infectious Generosity
If you want to help create a more generous world but don’t know where to start, Infectious Generosity is the book for you.
gatesnotes.com 21 May 2024
Recommends How to Know a Person
It's a must-read for anyone looking to deepen their relationships and broaden their perspectives—and I believe it has the power to make us better friends, colleagues, and citizens.
gatesnotes.com 21 May 2024
Loved Brave New Words
I recently read a terrific book on this topic called Brave New Words.
gatesnotes.com 21 May 2024
Loved The Song of the Cell
If I had been able to read The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee in school, I might have fallen in love with biology a lot earlier.
gatesnotes.com 20 Nov 2023
Loved Not the End of the World
His life and work have influenced my own tremendously—and just a few pages into Ritchie’s essential and hopeful new book, Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet, it became clear that she was carrying on his tremendous legacy.
gatesnotes.com 20 Nov 2023
Recommends Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow resonated with me for personal reasons, but I think Zevin’s exploration of partnership and collaboration is worth reading no matter who you are.
gatesnotes.com 30 May 2023
What others say about Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow →
Recommends Born in Blackness
If you’re interested in learning more about the history of Africa, its central role in the world, and the ways in which both have been misunderstood in the West, I highly recommend Born in Blackness.
gatesnotes.com 30 May 2023
Liked The Inner Game of Tennis
But The Inner Game of Tennis is just as relevant today as it was in 1974.
gatesnotes.com 21 Nov 2022
Liked Surrender
Bono’s new book, Surrender, is packed with funny, poignant moments like this.
gatesnotes.com 21 Nov 2022
Loved Stranger in a Strange Land
Of all the sci-fi I read as a teenager, Stranger in a Strange Land is my favorite.
gatesnotes.com 21 Nov 2022
Loved Mendeleyev’s Dream
Paul Strathern’s terrific book Mendeleyev’s Dream traces that journey all the way back to ancient Greece, when people first started questioning why the world is the way it is.
gatesnotes.com 21 Nov 2022
Loved Why We’re Polarized
In his terrific book Why We’re Polarized, Ezra Klein argues that identity is the answer to the question suggested by his title.
gatesnotes.com 6 Jun 2022
Loved The Ministry for the Future
The Ministry for the Future does a better job than any other book I’ve read of playing out, in a dramatic but realistic way, how high temperatures can literally kill people.
gatesnotes.com 6 Jun 2022
Loved The Lincoln Highway
Once again, I was wowed by Towles’s writing—especially because The Lincoln Highway is so different from A Gentleman in Moscow in terms of setting, plot, and themes.
gatesnotes.com 6 Jun 2022
Recommends How the World Really Works
But I highly recommend reading him on the subject because he is so good at explaining how the world’s energy systems work today.
gatesnotes.com 6 Jun 2022
Loved The Remains of the Day
I read Remains of the Day years ago and thought it was brilliant.
gatesnotes.com 22 Nov 2021
Liked The Code Breaker
When I heard that one of my favorite authors, Walter Isaacson, was working on a book about CRISPR and its inventor, I was eager to read it.
gatesnotes.com 22 Nov 2021
Loved Project Hail Mary
Even if you aren’t a big science fiction fan, Project Hail Mary is a terrific story about two friends using science and engineering to save the day.
gatesnotes.com 22 Nov 2021
Recommends Numbers Don’t Lie
I unabashedly recommend this book to anyone who loves learning.
gatesnotes.com 3 Aug 2021
Recommends Under a White Sky
Despite these reservations, I still recommend reading Under a White Sky.
gatesnotes.com 14 Jun 2021
Loved The Overstory
On the contrary, I loved following Powers’ characters as they became more and more passionate about their love for trees.
gatesnotes.com 14 Jun 2021
Loved A Promised Land
A Promised Land is a refreshingly honest book.
gatesnotes.com 14 Jun 2021
Loved The Spy and the Traitor
The book is every bit as exciting as my favorite spy novels.
gatesnotes.com 8 Dec 2020
Liked Range
I learned this from reading a good, myth-debunking book called Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World.
gatesnotes.com 8 Dec 2020
Loved The Splendid and the Vile
The Splendid and the Vile is a brilliant account of another era of widespread anxiety: the years 1940 and 1941, when English citizens spent almost every night in makeshift shelters as massive bombs rained down on them.
gatesnotes.com 8 Dec 2020
Recommends The New Jim Crow
If you’re interested in learning more about the real lives caught up in our country's justice system, I highly recommend The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.
gatesnotes.com 8 Dec 2020
Recommends The Ride of a Lifetime
But I recently read another business book that I will happily recommend to anyone who asks: The Ride of a Lifetime, by former Disney CEO Robert Iger.
gatesnotes.com 18 May 2020
Liked Why We Sleep
But even if you apply a mild discount factor, Why We Sleep is an important and fascinating book.
gatesnotes.com 10 Dec 2019
Loved These Truths
But with the exception of a brief section covering the past 20 years (more on this below), I loved the book and hope lots of people read it.
gatesnotes.com 10 Dec 2019
Loved Growth
Anyone who reads the new book Growth, the newest of 39 brilliant books by one of my favorite thinkers, will come away with similar urgency.
gatesnotes.com 10 Dec 2019
Loved Blueprint
In his terrific book Blueprint, Christakis explains that humans have evolved to work together and be social.
gatesnotes.com 23 Jul 2019
Loved Guns, Germs, and Steel
I still rank Guns, Germs, and Steel as one of the best things I’ve ever read.
gatesnotes.com 20 May 2019
Recommends Presidents of War
Presidents of War is worth reading, whether you are one of the nation’s leaders or just an armchair historian.
gatesnotes.com 20 May 2019
Loved A Gentleman in Moscow
A Gentleman in Moscow is an amazing story because it manages to be a little bit of everything.
gatesnotes.com 20 May 2019
Liked 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
In his fascinating new book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, the historian Yuval Noah Harari creates a useful framework for confronting these fears.
gatesnotes.com 3 Dec 2018
Loved Educated
Educated is an amazing story, and I get why it’s spent so much time on the top of the New York Times bestseller list.
gatesnotes.com 3 Dec 2018
Recommends Capitalism without Capital
Capitalism Without Capital is the first book I’ve seen that tackles them in depth, and I think it should be required reading for policymakers.
gatesnotes.com 14 Aug 2018
Loved Origin Story
It does a fantastic job distilling the latest thinking about the origins of the universe.
gatesnotes.com 21 May 2018
Loved Factfulness
Factfulness is a fantastic book, and I hope a lot of people read it.
gatesnotes.com 3 Apr 2018
Liked Turtles All the Way Down
Paper Towns is still my favorite John Green book—but my family loved talking about Turtles at the dinner table, and I think yours will, too.
gatesnotes.com 27 Mar 2018
Loved Enlightenment Now
I read the book slowly since I loved it so much, but I think most people will find it a quick and accessible read.
gatesnotes.com 26 Jan 2018
Loved Sapiens
Melinda and I loved Harari’s previous book, Sapiens, which tries to explain how our species came to dominate the Earth.
gatesnotes.com 22 May 2017
Loved The Heart
It’s not the plot that makes The Heart such a wonderful book.
gatesnotes.com 22 May 2017
Loved Hillbilly Elegy
Vance describes in his terrific, heartbreaking book Hillbilly Elegy is one that I know only vicariously.
gatesnotes.com 22 May 2017
Loved When Breath Becomes Air
I am certain I will read When Breath Becomes Air again.
gatesnotes.com 7 Mar 2017
Loved String Theory
As much as I loved the book for its insights on the game, I loved it just as much for the writing itself.
gatesnotes.com 5 Dec 2016
Loved The Myth of the Strong Leader
But to read Archie Brown’s fascinating book, The Myth of the Strong Leader, is to see an illustration that leaders like Suárez, who served as prime minister of Spain from 1976 to 1981, possess leadership styles and capacities that are incredibly effective, and depressingly rare.
gatesnotes.com 5 Dec 2016
Where they publish
Blog Gates Notes Their own site: posts on global health, energy, and books.
Long posts on global health and disease eradication, energy and climate, and an annual set of book recommendations. Written under their own name on their own site rather than the foundation's.
Link verified 1 Sept 2026.
x.com @BillGates Short-form, and where new Gates Notes posts are announced.
Short posts on global health and climate, and the place new Gates Notes pieces are announced.
Recent
- This kind of commitment will help turn promising research into breakthroughs for families who need them. 14 Oct 2026 thetimes.com
- Just as we regulate planes, cars, and medicines, we need safeguards that help us realize AI's incredible potential while reducing the risks. They won’t eliminate every harm, but they can help prevent misuse by bad actors. We’re not where we need to be yet—and this deserves much more of our attention. 11 Oct 2026
- Aviation is one of the hardest parts of the economy to decarbonize. 8 Oct 2026
Show 17 more
- Ken’s incredible generosity will make a huge, lasting impact. 1 Oct 2026
- I appreciated the opportunity to speak with @ezraklein at length about the state of AI. I believe the world isn't awake to the dangers of this technology and the choices humanity has to make. AI will either be the greatest tool for opportunity and equality we've ever seen—or the cause of immense, unprecedented harm. Which way things go is up to us. 29 Sept 2026 b-gat.es
- We need to put the appropriate AI safeguards and monitoring in place now—to both prevent a loss of control and stop bad actors from using the tech to cause harm. If we minimize the risks, we’ll get to benefit from AI’s immense potential in fields like medicine, education, and agriculture. 28 Sept 2026 nbcnews.com
- Congratulations on an extraordinary career, Warren. I’m lucky to call you my friend and mentor. 19 Sept 2026 nyti.ms
- Thank you for the warm welcome, @ncbn. It’s exciting to witness Andhra Pradesh’s growth being accelerated through AI, technology, and innovations across health, agriculture & education. 16 Feb 2026
- I’m deeply sad to learn of the passing of Dr. Bill Foege. Bill was a towering figure in global health—a man who saved the lives of literally hundreds of millions of people. He was also a friend and mentor who gave me a deep grounding in the history of global health and inspired me with his conviction that the world could do more to alleviate suffering. Bill and I often talked together about the future of global health. The legacy of his career is that many of the remarkable developments to come will have his imprint all over them. 27 Jan 2026 gatesnot.es
- .@fervoenergy is creating energy that’s clean, affordable, reliable, and American-made. 6 Sept 2025
- @NickKristof's journalism inspired me to get involved in global health decades ago, and I hope his reporting on the devastating consequences of aid cuts inspires others to act today. 26 Jul 2025
- Learning how many kids were dying from diarrhea back in 1997—when I never worried about it with my own kids—led me to get involved in global health. 23 Jul 2025 gatesnot.es
- Thanks to vaccines, fewer children are dying from preventable diseases around the world. Cutting funding for them would reverse that progress and put millions of children in danger. 11 Jul 2025
- The devastating effects of these cuts are entirely preventable—and it’s not too late to reverse them. 11 Jul 2025
- The facts are simple and devastating: Aid cuts have already cost lives, and the number of deaths will continue to rise. Here’s the evidence. 3 Jul 2025
- U.S. global health and development aid is estimated to have saved 92 million lives over the past 20 years. We can't afford to let that kind of progress unravel: 1 Jul 2025
- There’s never been a point in the past 25 years when more lives hung in the balance. 27 Jun 2025 gatesnot.es
- It's not too late to change course. 26 Jun 2025
- In the last 25 years, @gavi has helped over a billion kids live better, healthier lives. Pulling the organization’s funding would have devastating consequences: more sick kids who fall behind in school, more overcrowded hospital wards, and eventually more grieving parents. I’m urging Congress to rethink this decision, fund Gavi, and help save millions more lives. 25 Jun 2025
- Health aid works. 25 Jun 2025
Link verified 1 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
YouTube Bill Gates Their own channel, mostly short explainers. Has a feed.
Short explainer videos on the same subjects as the writing — vaccines, energy, sanitation — plus interviews they conduct rather than sit for.
Recent
Link verified 1 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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