Bill Gates Says Retirement 'Sounds Awful,' How Warren Buffett Inspires Billionaire To Keep Working

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates may not be involved in the day-to-day operations of the technology giant, but he continues to work on numerous projects and fight off retirement.

What Happened: In a recent interview, Gates credits the strong work ethic of Berkshire Hathaway CEO and friend Warren Buffett for his ambition to continue working and put off full-time retirement.

"My friend Warren Buffett still comes into the office six days a week. So, I hope my health allows me to be like Warren," Gates told CNBC Make It.

The 68-year-old billionaire who turns 69 in October told CNBC he has no plans to retire, saying the thought of working part-time or not at all "sounds awful."

Gates is a technology advisor to Microsoft today and also devotes a large portion of his time to funding projects on topics he's passionate about, including preventing disease, climate change, and helping provide access to education and healthcare globally.

"The (Bill & Melinda Gates) Foundation will celebrate its 25^th anniversary next year. We haven't gotten rid of polio, we haven't got rid of malaria. I'm very, very committed to those things. We want to cut childhood deaths in half again, from 5 million to 2.5 million."

Gates said its items like the above that also keep him motivated to stay working for at least 10 more years.

"Hopefully it'll be more like 20 or 30."

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Why It's Important: Topics like climate change, deadly diseases and Gates' philanthropic efforts will be covered on the new Netflix Inc NFLX docuseries "What's Next? The Future With Bill Gates."

The docuseries premieres on Sept. 18 and features conversations with celebrities and well-known figures.

While he still works full-time today, Gates has changed portions of his work ethic.

"I don't work as hard (now)," Gates said. "In my 20s, I didn't believe in weekends and vacations. So, that was kind of out of control, how I pushed myself."

Gates said it was Buffett who helped him realize he should worry less about being a workaholic and expecting the same from his employees.

The billionaire now plays tennis, takes vacations and reads around three hours a day during his non-working time.

In a commencement speech at Northern Arizona University in 2023, Gates reminded students to "take a break when you need to."

While Gates takes his breaks, he isn't set on retiring anytime soon.

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