Somehow,

"Bill, would you consider returning to lead Microsoft?"

"No."

Became a 1000 word article. Amazing.

The "HN Dream" has always seemed to be:

1) Make a startup

2) Strike it rich

3) Acquire millions (billions? I forget which is "cool")

4) With [bm]illions, change the world

Gates personifies that. Why on Earth would he backtrack to step 1 again?