Bill Gates has said that the rich should pay a greater share to get the US's economic house back in order, but has defended capitalism as an economic system.

Speaking to Today presenter Evan Davis, he said that capitalism is a "phenomenal system" because it allowed him to innovate, hire his friends and build a company like Microsoft that spans the world.

"We're going through a tough period, but there is no other system that has improved humanity," to the same degree, he said. "The world is better off" because of capitalism, he added.

He did not feel, however, that he should hold back in his mission to encourage philanthropy.

"I'm having so much fun that I don't view it as imposing a burden on someone," he added.

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