Bill Gates called his time at Microsoft "phenomenally fun" and said Steve Jobs "was always cooler than me."
"The Colbert Report" just aired its interview with Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, addressing topics such as worldwide health, his life after Microsoft and Steve Jobs.
Most of the interview focused on Gates' work with his foundation and what it's done for health care in the developing world. When asked by host Stephen Colbert about the progress of health care around the world – particularly developing countries – in recent years, Gates touted the gradual eradication of polio.
"Polio was down to 250 cases in the entire world [last year]," Gates told Colbert. "So within the next six years we'll get it down to zero, and it'll become the second disease to ever be eradicated."
Upon being questioned about his foundation's work in the United States, Gates said it focuses on education because of he and his wife's experiences growing up in the U.S. – "We're incredibly thankful for all the help we had [educationally] to allow us to be successful," he said.
On the topic of his life after Microsoft, Gates said he's slowed down in recent years, no longer spending time staying up all night, although he noted he still has a passion for math. Despite the change of pace, however, Gates said his time at Microsoft was "phenomenally fun" and "the coolest thing I could have done."
Colbert ended the interview by asking Gates about his public persona compared to that of Steve Jobs, who Colbert said was known for being a "cool guy." Gates agreed that Jobs "was always cooler than me" but noted that was simply Jobs' style – something that wouldn't have been the same coming from himself.
"He was brilliant. He had his own style, his own approach," Gates said of Jobs. "Mine is, I guess, a little geekier than his was."
Update: Video of the interview has been uploaded to Comedy Central's website and can be seen below.
Image via Microsoft
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