I generally like what Bill Gates is doing and think there should be more people like him in the world. But this statement is really below him; it has kind of 'me hates google' behind it and is wrong.
Did you read the entire article? The link headline is link-bait. He was asked a leading question and answered it. Gates didn't go out of his way to make the statement.
You are right, I didn't read it. Mea culpa. I've read it now and I have mixed feelings still.
This is what I would like to hear from Mr Gates:
"Guys, I'm taking what I believe is the most important thing in the world and that's curing those damned diseases. And I think that once we have cured all the people, they would need better education and internet is so far the best we have (though it could still be improved). So you Zuck and Larry and others work on that and we will all make the world a better place."
If he explicitly said something along those lines, my admiration for Mr Gates would skyrocket thru the roof. If he still thinks the internet is a joke (because only priority number 1 is important, right?) than I still stand by my original statement that he should know better.
He should know better than that.