Bill Gates Hosts 'Ask Me Anything' Reddit Thread About Global Development, Tech, Cheap Thrills

Bill Gates has taken to Reddit for a gabfest on everything from philanthropy to his bucket list, with a strong emphasis on global development.

The Microsoft founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has started an "Ask Me Anything" Reddit thread, in which he is answering questions live. Gates writes that he's emphasizing his philanthropic goals to spark an online conversation about global development.

"Many of you know me from my Microsoft days. The company remains very important to me and I’m still chairman. But today my full time work is with the foundation."

Gates began answering questions live at 10:45 a.m. PST. Since then, Redditors have flooded the thread with more than 10,000 comments ranging from career advice to solving world problems and even his preference on tacos versus burritos.

Redditor parkerjh asked Gates:
"Which world-wide health cause are we perfectly capable of easily solving and on the cusp of achieving but just need to put it over the top with a little more attention or resources to actually solve?"

thisisbillgates answered:
"Polio is the first thing to get done since we are close. Within 6 years we will have the last case. After that we will go after malaria and measles. Malaria kills over 500,000 kids every year mostly in Africa and did not get enough attention until the last decade. We also need vaccines to prevent HIV and TB which are making progress..."

The conversation also turned comical, with questions aimed at discovering the real Bill Gates:

"Since becoming wealthy, what's the cheapest thing that gives you the most pleasure?" Redditor falter asked.

"Kids. Cheap cheeseburgers. Open Course Ware courses..." was Gates' response.

Gates answered a few questions before the conversation went live and shared his answers in a YouTube video.

This is the first time Gates has participated in an “Ask Me Anything” thread. In the post, he specifically calls out his foundation’s work that provides international aid and his 2013 annual letter that calls for improvements to global health and welfare.

Click here to follow the conversation and submit a question of your own.

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