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I would make an argument for Bill Gates. I know on HN people might snub this, but I honestly believe that for better or worse, the future was reshaped by his bu
by javindo 13y ago
I would make an argument for Bill Gates. I know on HN people might snub this, but I honestly believe that for better or worse, the future was reshaped by his business tenacity.
I know that everyone involved in the entire PC movement equally played a big part, but Windows ended up being the huge unifying factor for Joe White-Collar-Worker. I think the surge in office computing in Windows was what eventually lead to the acceptance and idea of "normal people" owning computers in the home and consequently the drive towards intelligent consumer electronics in general.
Also a mention for Sir. Tim Berners-Lee, of course it was not a one man effort but he is largely attributed to the creation of the WWW which, let's face it, has already hugely reshaped society in many ways.
- showerst 13y agoI'd argue that long after his business acumen is just a footnote, Bill Gates' charity work will stand him head and shoulders into the top people who've ever lived. He'll be remembered as a business tycoon probably among the likes of JP Morgan or Carnegie, but that will fade with time. His charity work, on the other hand, might eventually work out to save _tens of millions_ of lives. If the foundation prospers long enough to beat malaria and waterborne disease in the developing world, they'll re-shape the population of a continent. They may not only save more lives than anyone in history, but manage to save more lives than any dictator was able to end, which is a sadly astonishing achievement.