Microsoft billionaire and the world's richest man Bill Gates joined social media network Twitter on Tuesday, January 19, 2010. His username, @BillGates, was confirmed as real by both a Twitter spokesperson as well as a spokesperson for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to which Bill Gates devotes much of his time since stepping down as CEO of Microsoft in 2008.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34945257/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

Bill Gates' first Twitter was "'Hello World.' Hard at work on my foundation letter — publishing on 1/25." As word of his account spread, he quickly gained multitudes of followers, over 100,000 in the first 8 hours. As of the morning of January 20, he was at 210,000 followers.http://www.newser.com/story/78688/bill-gates-joins-twitter-madness-ensues.html?utm_source=lunchbox&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20100120

Celebrity tweeter Ashton Kutcher rolled out the welcome mat, for which he received a tweeted thank you. This is the reclusive software mogul's first foray back into social networking since he closed his Facebook account after receiving thousands of friend requests from people he didn't know. According to MSNBC, he has also reestablished that account.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34945257/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

While Bill Gates has been racking up the followers, he also has decided to follow about 40 others thus far. Most of those he is following are other charitable organizations, including UNICEF, the Carnegie Foundation and Heifer International. Also on his follow list are Barack Obama, The Economist and teen actress Ashley Tisdale.http://twitter.com/BillGates/following