Microsoft plans to pay out $75 Billion to shareholders over a 4 year period in the form of dividends and stock buy backs. That is a staggering amount of money for one company to sit on. Its comparable to the entire public sector budget of Denmark for a year. While Denmark is a small country, it is also a rich country and we have an enormous public sector.
To get another, non-inflation adjusted, perspective on that figure: The Marshall Plan paid out $15 Billion to resurrect Europe after the damages of WW2.
15 $Billion is also approximately the US foreign aid budget by the way, and speaking of aid - Bill Gates has announced that his portion of the dividend payouts, some $3 Billion, will go into his foundation.