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Bill Gates will meet with business leaders and the prime minister during his trip to Israel. (Reuters)
Last update - 00:00 19/10/2005
Microsoft owner Bill Gates to visit Israel on October 25
By Galya Yemini

Bill Gates, the world's richest man and owner of the Microsoft computer giant, is to pay a one-day visit to Israel on October 25, his first to the country.

Gates will arrive on the evening of the October 24 and his day will start with an 8 A.M. breakfast with business leaders, including top officials from Partner Communications, Pele-Phone Communications, Teva, Bank Hapoalim and EL AL. Also present will be Accountant-General Yaron Zelekha and the manager of the Israel Aircraft Industries, Moshe Keret.

The Microsoft chairman will be traveling by company plane from France, which will remain at Ben Gurion International Airport until his departure. He will be staying at the presidential suite of the David Intercontinental Hotel in Tel Aviv, which goes for $2,000 a night. He gets the same bed that former U.S. president Bill Clinton and superstar singer Madonna slept in. Gates' people in Israel say he made no special requests, not even for a computer.
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But the operations manager at the hotel, Zeev Keren, noticed that Gates' 50th birthday is just four days after his stay, on October 28. As a surprise the hotel will have a birthday cake in his room.

Only two politicians - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Finance Minister Ehud Olmert - are scheduled to meet him.

The meeting with Olmert has been scheduled for 35 minutes, after which the two will make a joint statement. The meeting with Sharon will be at the end of the visit: the venue, either Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, has yet to be set.

Gates will not be visiting the Microsoft development center in Haifa, but will hold a personal meeting with the general manager of Microsoft Israel and have a group meeting with company employees.

He will not be at all six conferences convening in honor of "Bill Gates Day," but is expected to speak to an audience of about 2,500, on "The new work space," consisting of his vision regarding the future generation of software for IT workers.

Oudi Antebi, an Israeli who works at the Microsoft headquarters, will also be on stage and will demonstrate a new Microsoft product during Gates' speech.

As is customary for visits from the leaders of friendly nations, the organizers of the trip tried to include a short trip to the Western Wall. But Gates passed and will instead meet children who have shown a strong affinity for computers.

Gates will leave Israel for Jordan, where he will meet with King Abdullah II, before heading to Europe.
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  1.   Bill Gates to visit Israel on October 25 12:16  |  eli philipson 19/10/05
  2.   Stealing software 12:39  |  G Katan 19/10/05
  3.   how to be ridiculous in the extreme 12:44  |  eli philipson`s other side 19/10/05
  4.   Visit the Palestinians Too 13:10  |  Andy Murray 19/10/05
  5.   Software 13:25  |  peter 19/10/05
  6.   Surprise cake???? 14:13  |  lisland 19/10/05
  7.   @Andy 15:35  |  Matze 19/10/05
  8.   Andy Murray mixing politics with business is not wise. 15:42  |  Yossi 19/10/05
  9.   Bill Gates visit to Israel 16:59  |  shoshanna 19/10/05
  10.   Andy Murray 17:27  |  Jane 19/10/05
  11.   Andy, tell the PA to open MSFT PA first 15:16  |  SDR 23/10/05
  12.   Correct your info and spelling 11:30  |  nadine 25/10/05
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