Bill Gates attacks Wall Street salaries

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has attacked Wall Street salaries and bonuses during a speech on philanthropy.

With US unemployment standing at more than ten per cent, there has been public anger over the large salaries paid at financial institutions.

Mr Gates admitted that it would not be easy to change remuneration practices on Wall Street, reports Reuters.

"The compensation problem is a very interesting problem," he said.

"I do think compensation is often too high, but it's a very tough problem to solve."

He added that his opinion was the financial crisis had come about because of overconfidence and an "out of kilter" view of risk and price appreciation.

Mr Gates went on to state his concern over the government's 80 per cent ownership of AIG, saying that it was an "unnatural situation" for the state to own a private company.

Last year, he pledged to leave his $58 billion fortune to charity rather than give it to his children.

By Gary Cooper