Gates finally gets his Harvard degree

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard University's most famous dropout finally got his college degree.

Bill Gates, who co-founded Microsoft Corp. and became the world's richest man after leaving Harvard in 1975, returned today to accept an honorary degree and speak at the school's 356th commencement.

"I will be changing my job next year," Gates said, referring to his plan to give up his day-to-day role at Microsoft in July 2008. "It will be nice to finally have a college degree on my resume."

Gates has been concentrating on philanthropy, through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation he began with his wife.

He urged graduates to work to end poverty and preventable diseases worldwide.

"You have technology that members of my class never had. You have an awareness of global inequity, which we never had," Gates said. "Be activists. Take on the big inequities. It will be one of the great experiences of your lives."

The Gates Foundation, established by the couple in 2000, gives more than $1.5 billion a year in grants, partly to battle malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, poverty and hunger in the developing world.

Gates said he remains shocked by the number of people in poor countries who die each year of treatable or preventable diseases. Wealthy countries don't do enough to make the cures available, he said.

"It's revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not," Gates said.