Mike Segar / Reuters
After years of hard slog, amassing a $53 billion fortune, Bill Gates has finally been awarded the honor of a lifetime.
The Microsoft founder and philanthropist was awarded the Silver Buffalo, the highest Boy Scout honor in the U.S, for his services to youth. The Silver Buffalo was created in 1925 and other holders include Charles Lindbergh, Colin Powell, Walt Disney and 14 US presidents.
Gates was a member of the scouts in the 1960s and 1970s in Seattle. Speaking at the award ceremony Bill Gates said that being a scout was a very “positive memory” for him, reported the BBC. “I wasn’t good at hiking, I wasn’t good at cooking the food. It was the experience of challenging yourself,” he said. “The merit badges I received: Basket weaving. Wood carving. I was really good at those things. And imagine if I hadn’t learned those things?” Yes Bill, just imagine.