Bill Gates steps down from Microsoft board after losing $ 5 billion due to Coronavirus

Gates was Microsoft’s CEO until 2000 and since then has gradually scaled back his involvement in the company he started with Paul Allen in 1975. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Microsoft's billionaire co-founder Bill Gates announced he is stepping down from the company board of directors and focusing on his philanthropic initiatives.

"Microsoft will always remain an important part of my life's work and I will continue to engage with Satya and technical leadership to help shape the vision and achieve the company ambitious goals," Gates wrote in a LinkedIn post.

In a statement issued by Microsoft, Nadila said it was a "tremendous honor and privilege to have worked with and learned from Bill over the years."

"Bill founded our company with a belief in the democratizing force of software and a passion to solve society's most pressing challenges," he said. "And Microsoft and the world are better for it."

Gates previously resigned from the position of Microsoft CEO in 2008 and has since held the position of non-executive chairman of the company's board of directors.

This came a day after Gates lost "$ 5.3 billion, taking his fortune down to 99.2 billion, due to US and European stock turmoil as Coronavirus spread.

Source: Fox News