The New Yorker had an article about Gates' involvement in fighting malaria in Africa (synopsis: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/10/24/051024fa_fact_specte

The New Yorker had an article about Gates' involvement in fighting malaria in Africa (synopsis: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/10/24/051024fa_fact_specter http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/10/24/051024fa_fact_sp...). That article paints Gates as extremely quick. For example, it recounts an episode (touched on in the synopsis) where Gates was given a reading list by somebody who was used to potential donors wanting to get involved. Unlike most of them, Gates came back having read and synthesized most if not everything on the list. I don't remember much about that article anymore, but I remember coming away from it thinking a lot more highly of him, both in terms of his intelligence and his willingness to use his skills in the service of others.