‘I Love Doing Product Reviews’: Bill Gates Stepped Down from Microsoft in 2020, But Admits He Still Spends 15% of His Time Working at the Company

When Bill Gates stepped down from Microsoft’s board in 2020, it seemed to be the end of the entrepreneur’s almost four decades at the tech giant he co-founded in 1975. Though on his Gates Notes blog, he states he is still a “technical advisor,” it wasn’t clear how much time he was actually spending at the company.

Gates spent 25 years as CEO and transitioned into a part-time role at Microsoft in June 2008. And despite officially stepping down in 2020, it looks like Gates never actually retired.

In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal, Gates said that he is still doing “product reviews” at Microsoft, and it takes up “maybe 15%” of the 69-year-old’s time.

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Gates also said that he and current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella still have a “very close relationship.”

“I love doing product reviews, and he brings me in to do that,” Gates said. “It’s maybe 15% of my time. It helps me stay up-to-date.”

^{Microsoft Co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen pose for a portrait in 1984 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by © Doug Wilson/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)}

This is a departure from April 2024, when Business Insider reported that Bill Gates was working behind the scenes at Microsoft, and a company spokesperson told the outlet, “Bill is not at Microsoft and not involved here.”

So, it doesn’t look like Gates will be fully retired anytime soon.

As his blog says: “I have a front seat view to all the amazing work the company continues to do in my current role as a technology advisor, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Related: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Says the Company Needs a ‘Culture Change’ After Security Failures