[jsz0]

A bit cynical eh? My personal opinion is after the full ramifications of the US DOJ/EU anti-trust actions set in years later Gates realized he couldn't run Microsoft the way he always had and the game was basically fixed against him going forward. If he stayed involved with Microsoft's day-to-day operations it's likely he would been overseeing a long slow decline in relevance. No fun for someone who likes challenges. I think he just lost interest and realized how much good he could do elsewhere.