Bill Gates

"If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 MPG."

"Research shows that there is only half as much variation in student achievement between schools as there is among classrooms in the same school. If you want your child to get the best education possible, it is actually more important to get him assigned to a great teacher than to a great school."

"The common thread for everything I do is this idea of a Web-services architecture. What does that mean? It means taking components of software and systems and having them be self-describing, so that you can aim them, ask them what their capabilities are, and communicate with them using a standard protocol."

"Flying cars are not a very efficient way to move things from one point to another."

"Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority."

"Exposure from a young age to the realities of the world is a super-big thing."

"Drones overall will be more impactful than I think people recognize, in positive ways to help society."

"Eventually you won't think of 'the Internet business.' You'll think of it more like news, weather, sports, but even that taxonomy isn't clear."

"I have seen firsthand that agricultural science has enormous potential to increase the yields of small farmers and lift them out of hunger and poverty."

"I like the idea of putting your Christmas wish list up and letting people share it."

"I think it's fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we've ever created. They're tools of communication, they're tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user."

"I think the positive competition between states in India is one of the most positive dynamics that the country has."

"I'm a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they're interested in."

"I've always been interested in science - one of my favourite books is James Watson's 'Molecular Biology of the Gene.'"

"In business, the idea of measuring what you are doing, picking the measurements that count like customer satisfaction and performance... you thrive on that."

"In inner-city, low-income communities of color, there's such a high correlation in terms of educational quality and success."

"In order to deal with all the medical cost demands and other challenges in the U.S., as we look to raise that revenue, the rich will have to pay slightly more. That's quite clear."

"In poor countries, we still need better ways to measure the effectiveness of the many government workers providing health services. They are the crucial link bringing tools such as vaccines and education to the people who need them most. How well trained are they? Are they showing up to work?"

"In the long run, your human capital is your main base of competition. Your leading indicator of where you're going to be 20 years from now is how well you're doing in your education system."

"In this business, by the time you realize you're in trouble, it's too late to save yourself. Unless you're running scared all the time, you're gone."

"Information technology and business are becoming inextricably interwoven. I don't think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without the talking about the other."

"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure."

"It's hard to improve public education - that's clear."

"Just in terms of allocation of time resources, religion is not very efficient. There's a lot more I could be doing on a Sunday morning."

"People always fear change. People feared electricity when it was invented, didn't they? People feared coal, they feared gas-powered engines... There will always be ignorance, and ignorance leads to fear. But with time, people will come to accept their silicon masters."

"People should just buy a CD and rip it. You are legal then."

"Security is, I would say, our top priority because for all the exciting things you will be able to do with computers - organizing your lives, staying in touch with people, being creative - if we don't solve these security problems, then people will hold back."

"Steve Jobs' ability to focus in on a few things that count, get people who get user interface right, and market things as revolutionary are amazing things."

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose."

"Technology is unlocking the innate compassion we have for our fellow human beings."

"The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don't really even notice it, so it's part of everyday life."

"The intersection of law, politics, and technology is going to force a lot of good thinking."

"The malaria parasite has been killing children and sapping the strength of whole populations for tens of thousands of years. It is impossible to calculate the harm malaria has done to the world."

"The moral systems of religion, I think, are super important."

"Unemployment rates among Americans who never went to college are about double that of those who have a postsecondary education."

"Well private money can take risks in a way that government money often isn't willing to."

"When I was growing up, my parents were almost involved in various volunteer things. My dad was head of Planned Parenthood. And it was very controversial to be involved with that."