Could Bill Gates be the next Microsoft CEO?

The answer is no, of course. He has no desire to leave his fulfilling job supporting charities around the globe, but that’s not stopping speculations from circulating as the co-founder and former CEO has been spotted on campus more often than normal since the search for Steve Ballmer’s replacement began.

There’s a question being whispered around Microsoft’s sprawling suburban campus: What will Bill Gates do?

Mr. Gates’s role at Microsoft has been a source of wide fascination since he left his day-to-day responsibilities in 2008. But interest in it has grown in the past few years as Microsoft has stumbled, and it intensified sharply in the weeks since Steven A. Ballmer announced he would be retiring as Microsoft’s chief executive in the next year.