Bill Gates is no longer Microsoft’s largest shareholder (Steve Ballmer is), but he still has a massive influence on how the company is run.
Microsoft has been debating the sale of its Bing and Xbox businesses for years. With new CEO Satya Nadella looking for a fresh start for the company, the sell-off debate has once again begun.
Microsoft’s co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates recently weighed in on the issue during an interview with Fox Business.
Bill Gates didn’t explicitly reveal any major details, but he did hint towards various outcomes.
First, Gates suggested that Microsoft would not want to sell off the Xbox business because the company has plans for an overall gaming strategy.
Second, Gates said that if Nadella decided to sell the Xbox business after much research and deliberation, then Gates would support the decision.
Some members of the media saw this as virtual confirmation that Microsoft would sell off its Xbox business. Other, smarter members of the media, realized that Gates didn’t really say anything for one side or the other.
Microsoft’s communications chief Frank Shaw said the following on Twitter in response to the issue:

There you have it: Gates didn’t have a strong opinion about the Xbox business, but he did have a strong opinion on his support for new CEO Satya Nadella.
However, it’s important to note that when Microsoft was choosing its new CEO, former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop was rumored to support selling off the Xbox and Bing businesses if he got the job.
Of course, Elop did not get the job and it appears that Bing and Xbox are not going anywhere in the near future.
I’m more excited about the fact that Microsoft could have an overall gaming strategy.