Bill Gates: Wealthier World 'A Great Thing' For U.S.

By Andrew Ackerman 
   Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--Billionaire Bill Gates on Tuesday said he is untroubled by the likelihood that the United States will one day lose its status as the world's largest economy.
Mr. Gates, speaking in Washington, said that wealth is "not a zero-sum game" as the economies in the developing world expand.
"A wealthy world is a great thing for the United States," the Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)chairman said. "The United States will continue to improve, that is, we'll continue to invent new things and people will be better off. Other countries will also improve.
"It's good for us that people are inventing cancer medicines everywhere in the world and people are buying U.S. products everywhere in the world," he said.
Mr. Gates was speaking at a dinner hosted by The Economic Club of Washington, D.C., a group of top business leaders and other professionals