
Five years ago, if you'd have asked us which white rich businessman with a Twitter account would be sat in the White House, we wouldn't have guessed Donald Trump.
The safe money could have been put on Microsoft mogul Bill Gates. In addition to their many other differences, the pair approaches the social media site Twitter in polar opposite ways.
Trump, for example, uses it to whine about Hilary Clinton and the media.
Bill Gates, on the other hand, has acknowledged that 2017 was a hell of a year, so has decided to use his account to spread inspiration and goodwill throughout the Twitterverse.
Yesterday he tweeted:
There's no denying that 2017 was a really tough year... but it also delivered some amazing moments of hope and progress. Here are some inspiring tweets that you may have missed...
So here they are, ranging from a Latino man who became the first in his family to graduate from college to praise for The New York Times. Yeah, couldn't be more different from Trump.
1.
On May 18, 2017, I became the first person in my family to graduate from college! #graduation #amazingfeeling… https://t.co/gUf9EECI20— Edwardo Sanchez (@Edwardo Sanchez) 1497914692
2.
'Toilet, a Love Story': Bollywood spotlights India's sanitation crisis in new film https://t.co/6bkAOEVZip https://t.co/u2Kx2QpeQ2— The Express Tribune (@The Express Tribune) 1499792000
3.
Bhutan and Maldives eliminate #measles - @WHO https://t.co/9l7G6GakUB | @azweynert reports https://t.co/wwxnWDssKf— Thomson Reuters Foundation News (@Thomson Reuters Foundation News) 1497360017
4.
The World Food Prize gives me greater zeal to feed Africa and end hunger in our world. No resting until we succeed! https://t.co/2b9spyYefz— Akinwumi A. Adesina (@Akinwumi A. Adesina) 1508622775
5.
My debut in the @nytimes couldn't be more perfect and timely. Here's why helping others is good for your health https://t.co/q8qHC9Lh0Y— nicolekarlis (@nicolekarlis) 1509040127
6.
Well done to 6yo Zackary Howells on his #ExtremeReading award! https://t.co/hFiSxhLr69 #ChurchSchools @SP_Academies… https://t.co/UVjwfmJnhw— SDBE (@SDBE) 1507557474
Gates then ended his thread asking his followers what tweets had inspired and given them hope this year.
These tweets made me feel better about 2017 and more optimistic about the new year. I hope they make you feel more hopeful, too. What tweets inspired you this year?
Well Bill, seeing as you're asking...
This is Billy. He can no longer see or hear, which only heightens his other good boy senses like smell and uncondit… https://t.co/fBMgRzSFRb— WeRateDogs® (@WeRateDogs®) 1513469284
More: 8 books Bill Gates thinks you should definitely read.
More: 7 things Bill Gates predicted 18 years ago that have already come true.