Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp., a Harvard drop-out, one of the world’s richest men and one of the greatest philanthropists in history, announced he will step down from his full-time role at Microsoft this week to concentrate on his $37 billion charitable organization, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Some say his wealth and notorious opportunism remind of robber barons of the old days. Still here is a man who has set a goal to exterminate malaria. Although his net worth is an estimated $50 billion, the man can’t be labeled as avaricious when he has pledged to return to humanity all but a small fraction of 1% of that fortune.

These characteristics only begin to clarify why Gates, at 52, has decided to redirect his efforts toward more altruistic occupations. On July 1 he will step away from an operating role at Microsoft to dedicate more time to philanthropy and other interests. The change has been on his mind for almost ten years, and it shows some important experiences over his lifetime.

According to CNNMoney.com, “Gates' closest friends wonder how he will exploit this new freedom. He doesn't know for sure where his mind is going to go,” says Buffett, who has donated the bulk of his own $45 billion fortune to the Gates Foundation, largely because he believes his money will be used wisely and effectively. “Not only will it be fascinating, but I think it's going to be, for me, very satisfying to watch.”

“He is one of the greatest business minds of all time, and you don't just shut that off,” adds Nathan Myhrvold, the former head of Microsoft's R&D labs. “My guess is we have not seen the last business idea out of Bill Gates.”

The same website reports that a big part of his new job will be to appear more frequently in public and persuade more governments and corporations to do more for the world's poor.

“I'm uniquely able to reach out to the big companies, to ask them not just to write checks but to offer more of their innovative power,” Gates says. “There's a big category of my time for talking to drug companies, cell phone companies, banks, and technology companies, as well as talking with other people who are lucky enough to have super big fortunes about how they want to give those back to society.”