FC Now reader Kelleen Stine-Cheyne just emailed to ask why no one from the Fast Company team has commented on Bill Gates' recent knighting. To tell the truth, I read the news this morning and am still slightly stunned by disbelief. Gates is a knight? In Britain? Why?

Today is a banner day for Bill. Not only is he now a knight, but a US Federal Appeals Court recently overturned a $520 million ruling against Microsoft. A lower court will retry the patent infringement case. With Microsoft spending $6 billion annually on R&D, that amount seems like chump change, but you gotta admit:

Being knighted and possibly recovering $520 million in one single news day warrants a pat on the back.