By Will Sturgeon, 26 January 2004 14:30
NEWS Microsoft chairman Bill Gates is to receive an honorary knighthood from the Queen in recognition of his contribution to enterprise, employment and charities in the UK.
Gates will be invited to attend a ceremony at Buckingham Palace where Elizabeth 2.0 will install the upgrade.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in a statement: "I am delighted that Bill Gates has been awarded this honour. He is one of the most important global business leaders of this age. Microsoft technology has transformed business practices and his company has had a profound impact on the British economy, employing 2,000 people and contributing to the development of the IT sector."
However, such plaudits may be lost on a number of Gates' many detractors. Indeed, some may question the wisdom of awarding such an honour while Microsoft is under investigation by the EU for anticompetitive business practices.
Asked whether there may be a conflict of interest between the award and the Brussels investigation, a government spokeswoman said: "We do not want to comment on investigations which are going on with the EU. We have honoured [Gates] for the work he has done here for UK businesses and for the UK."
But while the Microsoft business model still courts controversy, there is no denying the contribution Gates has made to a number of worthy causes.
Straw added: "In 2000, the Gates Foundation announced the biggest international educational scholarship programme ever established in the UK. With an estimated worth of $210m, it allows 230 students to study at Cambridge University. In addition, his international development work makes the Gates Foundation one of the leading philanthropic organisations of the modern age."
The awarding of the honour coincides with Gates visiting the UK as keynote speaker at the international 'Advancing Enterprise' conference, chaired by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster.
However, as Gates is not a UK or Commonwealth citizen, he won't be able to use the title 'Sir Bill'.
silicon.com will be reporting from the 'Advancing Enterprise' conference later today after Gates' keynote.
Comments
There are 21 comments. Join the discussion
1. Dave Cotton
I hope she does the same as Elizabeth I did to certain knights when she realised what roques and pirates they really were.
2. Chris Stevens
If he gets rid of spam he deserves a sainthood!
3. anonymous
I think Gates deserves this recognition - and probably more. I think that many of the most vehement critics of Gates and Microsoft are comparative newbies in the IT industry.
Those people who remember the IT industry before it was dominated by Microsoft would proably agree that - despite the questionable methods sometimes employed by MS - the overall effect has been mainly beneficial to IT end users. In the 1980s I was paid three days consulting (£500 per day even then) to move a couple of files from one computer to another - an operation that would now take a few milliseconds to do. It is mainly the influence of Microsoft that transformed those kind of operations (and much more besides). Their dominance of the industry brought down prices, faciliated interchange in a way that would never have happened otherwise and provided unified (albeit propietary) application sets that are universally available and accessible. The people who complain about that transformation either do not know how tough IT was to use before MS, or they yearn for the days when the select few - the IT priesthood if you will - could maintain the mystique around IT and name their prices for their products and services.
Clearly, not all the results of Microsoft's labours have been good - but I would contend that the good heavily outweighs the bad. Therefore I contend that Gates deserves his honorary K at least as much for opening up (some say democratising) IT to the world as for his charity work.
Alan T
4. Grahame Erskine
Is "Elizabeth 2.0" the current release of the Queen? When is 2.1 available?
5. anonymous
On a point of order, Mr. Gates, although thoroughly deserving the honour, will not be entitled to be addressed as Sir Bill. (Ed note. As the story says... but thanks for repeating the point.)
6. anonymous
The purchase of honours with ill gotten gains is a standard path to recognition though the ages. From blatant monopolists on the edge of legality over two centuries at least to serial philanderers and drug abusers (you know who you are), they all get to the palace. Money buys everything, political principals vanish in the face of cash - I doubt this was the Queens idea. Plus ca change. Keep taking the money.
7. Bob Wilde
Your second paragraph state Bill Gates is receiving the knighthood from Elizabeth 2.0. How many incarnations of Queen Eliabeth II are you expecting? (Ed note. Sorry Bob, it was a joke.)
8. Alexander Chisholm
Microsoft may have is faluts and certainly has its detractors, but Bill Gates has been a leading player in a movement that has revolutionised the way business and pleasure activities are carried out all over the planet. Surely for his role as a pioneer in that movement alone, Bill Gates is woirthy of some recognition.
9. Malcolm Catmur-Neame
I think this is a disgrace. While Bill Gstes and others have created a huge change in the information revolution there have been some devious going on which is why Microsoft is being investigated. Did you know that Internet Explorer is the No1 web browser in 2003. Many others have done far more for this Country that deserve this award.
10. Lionel A Smith
I am too ghasted to be flabbered!
11. Russell de Pina
Is Elizabeth 2.0 anything like Sid 6.7?
12. Brian Thornton
I fully support the recognition of Bill Gates by the UK government.
When all around choose to slag him off, I suggest a simple stock take of how many jobs his corporation has created both in the UK and globally would justify his award.
Lets not also forget that he readily acknowledges that a large measure of his success is down to others failures.
So lets cure ourselves of this typically British desease of slagging off success.!!!
13. John Wiltshire
'For services to money" the citation should read
14. Brian Roberts
I think it would be very apt if just as the Queen is about to perform the ceremony of knighting Bill, she slips into some kind of trance from which she will not recover until she has been re-booted by means of a good nights sleep. By then her memory will have been reset so she will have forgotten what was on the agenda for the previous day.
15. Simon Hobson
Alan T from Wiltshire wrote : "Those people who remember the IT industry before it was dominated by Microsoft would proably agree that - despite the questionable methods sometimes employed by MS - the overall effect has been mainly beneficial to IT end users. In the 1980s I was paid three days consulting (£500 per day even then) to move a couple of files from one computer to another - an operation that would now take a few milliseconds to do. It is mainly the influence of Microsoft that transformed those kind of operations (and much more besides). Their dominance of the industry brought down prices, faciliated interchange in a way that would never have happened otherwise and provided unified (albeit propietary) application sets that are universally available and accessible."
I have to disagree with that. Microsoft did NOT come up with the concept of "PC Compatible" - that honour goes to a games reviewer in a magazine ! Before that, MS DOS was no different to any of the other operating systems (such as Unix or CP/M) then in use - you could not take a shrink-wrapped package for one system and run it on another manufacturers system running notionally the same OS.
And MS have NOT championed common file formats or data interchangeability, in fact they keep changing formats in a manner which the less generous of us could construe as a means of forcing us to upgrade our software and prevent use of those files with other software.
Their networking is similarly designed to prevent interoperability with non-MS systems, and no they did not even champion inter-PC networking, that was just one of MANY technologies where others led and MS only followed when they were able hijack the work.
And I would add that by virtue of their dominance, they have very effectively stifled innovation and development.
16. Zakala
I wonder how many students could study at any other UK university for £210M
17. Tokyopete
Now the UK University laws re fees have been changed thanks to it being tagged on to the vote about Bliar and Iraq and poor old Kelly, even fewer students will be able to live in luxury for three years at Oxbridge, courtesy of good ole Billie boy. I wonder if they will be using Linux OS on their computers?
18. anonymous
Jack Straw did not say "I am pleased to annouce that I have never even heard of Tim Berners-Lee and in any event, he has no influence with the US government, as I'm sure even my Right Honourable friends opposite would agree."
19. Luke
Anyone who questions whether Bill Gates should get this title would be a fool. I have done extensive research on Bill Gates and hes not the rich snob everyone takes him for. He donates billions of dollars annually and he also trys to live as casual a life-style as possible. He drives a normal family car and even flys coach. So before you go judging people by what critics say do some research.
20. roameri
1.Gates is a soft target for frustated IT people.
2.The EU shells out what ever price OPEC demands. Why don't they do a probe on that? Again because Gates is a soft target.
3.Just because Gates is the richest person in the world, some people think he is evil.
4.Lastly, Gates gives because he has.
But many others have but never give.
The Queen has rightly, though belatedly,honoured him.
21. roameri
1.Gates is a soft target for frustated IT people.
2.The EU shells out what ever price OPEC demands. Why don't they do a probe on that? Again because Gates is a soft target.
3.Just because Gates is the richest person in the world, some people think he is evil.
4.Lastly, Gates gives because he has.
But many others have but never give.
The Queen has rightly, though belatedly,honoured him.