Information | Detail |
---|---|
Date of Birth | October 28, 1955 |
Nationality | American |
Residence | Medina, Washington |
Education | Harvard University |
Occupation | Business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, and humanitarian |
Bill Gates is an American business magnate, investor, author, philanthropist, and humanitarian. He is best known as the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, the world's largest personal computer software company, along with Paul Allen. Gates has held the Forbes title of the richest person in the world multiple times, and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2017.
Gates was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He attended Lakeside School, a private school, where he developed an interest in computer programming. He later enrolled at Harvard College, where he dropped out two years later to pursue his business career at Microsoft.
Gates and Allen founded Microsoft in 1975, and Gates served as the company's chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president, and chief software architect. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and was the largest individual shareholder until May 2014. He has also authored or co-authored several books.
Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. He has been criticized for his business tactics, which have been considered anti-competitive. Since leaving Microsoft in 2008, Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000.
William Henry Gates III was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington. He is the son of William H. Gates Sr. and Mary Maxwell Gates. His father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother served on the board of directors for First Interstate BancSystem and the United Way. Gates has two sisters, Kristianne and Libby.
Gates attended public elementary school and the private Lakeside School. He wrote his first computer program on this machine: an implementation of tic-tac-toe that allowed users to play games against the computer. Gates was fascinated by the machine and how it would always execute software code perfectly.
At age 17, Gates formed a venture with Paul Allen, his childhood friend, to develop software for the first microcomputers. In 1973, Gates entered Harvard University as a freshman, where he met Steve Ballmer, who later succeeded Gates as CEO of Microsoft.
Gates and Allen founded Microsoft in 1975, with Gates as the CEO. The company's first product was a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800. Gates oversaw Microsoft's company restructuring on June 25, 1981, which re-incorporated the company in Washington state and made Gates president of Microsoft and the chairman of the board.
In 1985, Microsoft launched its first version of Windows, a graphical user interface (GUI) for MS-DOS, which was released in November 1985. Microsoft launched several versions of Windows in the following years.
In 2000, Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft and was replaced by Steve Ballmer. Gates continued to be involved in the day-to-day operations of the company as chief software architect. In 2006, Gates announced that he would be transitioning from full-time work at Microsoft to part-time work and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates has had a number of relationships with celebrities, including Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg. Gates and Buffett have been close friends since 1991, and Gates has credited Buffett for inspiring him to become a philanthropist.
Gates and Jobs had a complicated relationship. They were rivals in the personal computer revolution, but they also had a mutual respect for each other. Gates and Jobs later reconciled their differences and became friends.
Gates and Zuckerberg have been friends since 2011, when Zuckerberg invited Gates to speak at a Facebook event. Gates has praised Zuckerberg for his philanthropic work, and the two have worked together on a number of initiatives, including the Breakthrough Energy Coalition.
Gates is known for his famous quotes, including:
Gates has been criticized for his business tactics, which have been considered anti-competitive. He has also been criticized for his philanthropic work, which some have argued is not effective in addressing global poverty.
Gates has also been criticized for his involvement in the tobacco industry. In 1994, he invested $5 million in the cigarette company Philip Morris, which was later criticized for its marketing of cigarettes to children.
Gates is an avid reader and has written several books, including The Road Ahead (1995), Business @ the Speed of Thought (1999), and How to Avoid a Climate Disaster (2021). He is also an avid bridge player and has competed in several tournaments.
Gates has received numerous awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 and the Order of the Aztec Eagle in 2017. He was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2004 and the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006.