{"id":1768,"date":"2024-01-01T09:47:37","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T09:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebestbiography.com\/?p=1768"},"modified":"2024-01-01T09:47:37","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T09:47:37","slug":"bill-gates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebestbiography.com\/bill-gates\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Gates (Former CEO of Microsoft) Biography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bill Gates<\/strong> (born October 28, 1955, Seattle, Washington, U.S.) American computer programmer and entrepreneur who cofounded Microsoft Corporation, the world\u2019s largest personal-computer software company. <\/p>

Gates wrote his first\u00a0software\u00a0program at the age of 13. In\u00a0high school\u00a0he helped form a group of programmers who computerized their school\u2019s payroll system and founded Traf-O-Data, a company that sold\u00a0traffic-counting systems to local governments. In 1975 Gates, then a sophomore at\u00a0Harvard University, joined his hometown friend\u00a0Paul G. Allen\u00a0to develop software for the first\u00a0microcomputers. <\/p>

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Bill Gates Information<\/strong><\/h2>
Born<\/strong><\/td>28 October 1955 (age 68 years), Seattle, Washington, United States<\/td><\/tr>
Education<\/strong><\/td>Harvard University (dropped out)<\/td><\/tr>
Occupations<\/strong><\/td>Businessman investor philanthropist writer<\/td><\/tr>
Spouse<\/strong><\/td>Melinda French<\/td><\/tr>
Children<\/strong><\/td>3<\/td><\/tr>
Parents<\/strong><\/td>Bill Gates Sr.
Mary Maxwell<\/td><\/tr>
Height<\/strong><\/td>1.77 m<\/td><\/tr>
Organizations founded<\/strong><\/td>Microsoft Corporation<\/td><\/tr>
Awards<\/strong><\/td>Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2005)
Padma Bhushan (2015)
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016)
Hilal-e-Pakistan (2022)<\/td><\/tr>
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They began by adapting BASIC, a popular programming language used on large computers, for use on microcomputers. With the success of this project, Gates left Harvard during his junior year and, with Allen, formed Microsoft. Gates\u2019s sway over the infant microcomputer industry greatly increased when Microsoft licensed an operating system called MS-DOS to International Business Machines Corporation\u2014then the world\u2019s biggest computer supplier and industry pacesetter\u2014for use on its first microcomputer, the IBM PC (personal computer). After the machine\u2019s release in 1981, IBM quickly set the technical standard for the PC industry, and MS-DOS likewise pushed out competing operating systems. While Microsoft\u2019s independence strained relations with IBM, Gates deftly manipulated the larger company so that it became permanently dependent on him for crucial software. Makers of IBM-compatible PCs, or clones, also turned to Microsoft for their basic software. By the start of the 1990s he had become the PC industry\u2019s ultimate kingmaker.<\/p>

Being the largest individual stakeholder in Microsoft, Gates accumulated a substantial paper wealth mostly due to the company’s success. In 1986, he became a paper billionaire, and ten years later, his net worth had climbed into the tens of billions of dollars, making him, by some accounts, the richest private person in the world. Originally content to keep out of the spotlight and manage humanitarian and civic activities through one of his foundations, Gates had few interests outside of software and the promise of information technology. Nevertheless, Gates reluctantly became more well-known as Microsoft’s influence and standing increased, particularly as it caught the interest of the antitrust section of the US Justice Department. Competitors depicted him as, especially those at Silicon Valley rival companies.<\/p>

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motivated, cunning, and committed to making money off of almost every electronic transaction ever made. Conversely, his admirers praised his extraordinary commercial sense, adaptability, and insatiable curiosity about discovering novel approaches to enhance the functionality of computers and other electronics via software.<\/p>

Early Life And Education<\/strong><\/h2>

William Henry Gates III, the sole child of William H. Gates Sr. (1925\u20132020) and his first wife Mary Maxwell Gates (1929\u20131994), was born in Seattle, Washington, on October 28, 1955. He has German, Irish\/Scots-Irish, and English ancestry. His mother was on the boards of United Way of America and First Interstate BancSystem, and his father was a well-known attorney. J. W. Maxwell was the president of a big bank and Gates’ maternal grandfather. He also has a younger sister named Libby and an elder sister named Kristi (Kristianne). Despite being the fourth person in his family with that name, he goes by William Gates III or “Trey” (i.e., three) because his father had the suffix “II” added to his name. The family occupied a home in Seattle’s Sand Point neighborhood.<\/p>

Gates claims that his parents encouraged him to become a lawyer when he was younger. His family belonged to the Protestant Reformed Congregational Christian Churches, which he frequently attended as a child. Gates was teased as a child because he was undersized for his age. The visitors mentioned that “it didn’t matter whether it was hearts or pickleball or swimming to the dock; there was always a reward for winning and there was always a penalty for losing” indicating that the family promoted competitiveness.<\/p>

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He started attending the exclusive Lakeside prep school at the age of 13, where he also built his first piece of software. When he was in eighth grade, the school’s Mothers’ Club purchased a Teletype Model 33 ASR terminal and a block of computer time for the children on a General Electric (GE) computer with the money they raised from a rummage sale at Lakeside School. Gates was allowed to skip math classes in order to pursue his passion in programming the GE system in BASIC. On this system, he built his first computer program, which was an application that let people play games against the computer in the style of tic tac toe. The machine’s flawless execution of software code always captivated Gates. Following the Mothers Club contribution, Weary, Gates and the other students tried to get some more time on computers, such as DEC PDP minicomputers. One of these systems was a PDP-10 owned by Computer Center Corporation (CCC), which, upon discovering that Gates, Paul Allen, Ric Weiland, and his closest friend and first business partner, Kent Evans, were abusing operating system flaws to get free computer time, suspended them for the summer.<\/p>

To earn money, the four students founded the Lakeside Programmers Club. When the prohibition ended, they offered more computer time in exchange for finding vulnerabilities in CCC’s software. Gates went to CCC’s headquarters and studied the source code for different programs that ran on the system, such as Fortran, Lisp, and machine language, instead of utilizing the system remotely via Teletype. The agreement with CCC persisted until the business’s demise in 1970.<\/p>

The next year, a Lakeside teacher hired Gates and Evans in exchange for computer time and royalties to automate the school’s class scheduling system. The two put a lot of effort into getting the program ready for their senior year. Evans passed away in a mountain climbing accident near the conclusion of their junior year; Gates has called it one of the worst days of his life. Gates turned to Allen at that point, and Allen helped him complete the Lakeside system.<\/p>

When Gates was seventeen, he and Allen founded Traf-O-Data, a company that produced traffic counters built on the Intel 8008 CPU. He was a congressional page in the House of Representatives during 1972. When he graduated from Lakeside School in 1973, he was named a National Merit Scholar. In the fall of 1973, he entered at Harvard College after receiving a SAT score of 1590 out of 1600.38 Despite taking graduate-level computer science classes and mathematics (including Math 55), he decided to major in pre-law. He made the acquaintance of future Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer as a student at Harvard. Ballmer continued at Harvard and received a magna cum laude degree, whereas Gates left after two years. Years later, Ballmer took over from Gates as CEO of Microsoft and stayed in that role. from 2000 until his resignation in 2014.<\/p>

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Paul Allen stayed in touch with Gates, who spent the summer of 1974 working with him at Honeywell. When the Intel 8080 CPU-based MITS Altair 8800 was introduced in 1975, Gates and Allen recognized an opportunity to launch their own computer software business. In the same year, Gates left Harvard University. When his parents realized how much he wanted to launch his own business, they became supportive of him. He gave his reasoning for quitting Harvard, saying, “I could have always returned to school if things hadn’t worked out. Officially, I was on leave.<\/p>

Microsoft Career<\/strong><\/h2>

Gates\u2019s entire business career has involved Microsoft in some way. The company was co-founded with Steve Ballimer in 1975 when Gates and Ballimer contracted with Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems to develop a BASIC emulator for the MITS. Gates and Ballimer programmed the first emulator, but as the company grew, he became the company\u2019s Chief Executive Officer. Despite this, Gates remained intimately involved in the computing programming of the company, programing games as late as 1981.<\/p>

Microsoft and Gates would next move into the creation of operating systems with IBM, working with the company to program and license 86-DOS, the main operating system for that program. This, eventually, would evolve into Microsoft\u2019s greatest commercial success: The development of Windows, a brand new, graphically-based operating system. The first version of Windows was released in 1985, and the operating system has now become an industry standard and the most popular of computer operating systems. <\/p>

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Microsoft\u2019s success propelled Gates into wealth beyond his wildest dreams. At the age of 31, he was a billionaire. Microsoft would get intimately involved in a variety of other programs, including business programming, internet use, word processing, computer games, entertainment, and more. Gates would step down as CEO of the company in 2000, paving the way for Steve Ballimer to run the company. However, he has remained actively involved with the company, stepping down from its board in March of 2020 to continue to focus on his philanthropy.<\/p>

IBM Partnership<\/strong><\/h2>

IBM first contacted Microsoft in 1980 to develop a BASIC interpreter for the IBM PC, the company’s future personal computer. Gates sent IBM’s officials to Digital Research (DRI), the company that created the popular CP\/M operating system, when they noted that they needed an operating system. IBM and Digital Research were unable to come to a licensing deal as a result of their bad talks. In a later discussion with Gates, IBM representative Jack Sams brought up the licensing issues and instructed him to obtain a suitable operating system. A few weeks later, Gates suggested running an operating system called 86-DOS (QDOS), which was created for PC-like hardware by Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products and was akin to CP\/M. In order to become the sole license agency, Microsoft struck a contract with SCP, and 86-DOS’s eventual complete owner, but omitted to name IBM as a possible client. <\/p>

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Founder Gary Kildall of DRI allegedly “went flying” at an IBM visit, a charge that Kildall and other DRI staff members would subsequently refute. Gates never understood why DRI had backed out of the transaction. Microsoft supplied PC-DOS to IBM after customizing the operating system for the platform in exchange for a one-time payment. Because Gates thought other hardware makers would replicate IBM’s operating system, he requested that IBM allow Microsoft to preserve the copyright.They did, and Microsoft became a significant participant in the market thanks to the sales of MS-DOS.<\/p>

What Is Bill Gates Best Known For?<\/strong><\/h2>

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Microsoft Corporation<\/strong><\/h2>

There is no question that Gates is best known for the founding of Microsoft, now one of the most profitable and impactful corporations in the world. Microsoft is responsible for a slew of computer innovations.<\/p>

Microsoft Windows<\/strong><\/h2>

Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system in the world and standard to most commercially available computers. Its graphical interface has evolved considerably over time, becoming sharper and more intuitive. Windows was first invented in 1985.<\/p>

Microsoft Office<\/strong><\/h2>

Microsoft Office is a suite of programs designed for personal and business use. It includes word processing, spreadsheet software, presentations support, communications, and more. The first version of Office came out in 1995, and like most Microsoft products, the program has changed repeatedly over time.<\/p>

Internet Explorer<\/strong><\/h2>

Internet Explorer is one of the first graphics-based internet browsers. Some form of the program has been available since 1994, and its successor remains one of the most popular ways to browse the internet to date. <\/p>

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation<\/strong><\/h2>

The foundation was created in 1994 as a way to combat a variety of societal ills that Gates saw. Much of the original money for the foundation came from Gates personally, but other individuals \u2013 including Warren Buffet and Bono \u2013 donated substantial amounts of money to the Foundation. Its assets grew immediately, and to date, it is believed to have an endowment of $49.8 billion. The money raised by the foundation is invested in a variety of ways, including healthcare, education, and anti-poverty efforts. It has also been involved extensively in a variety of areas related to pandemic reduction.<\/p>

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Bill Gates: Net Worth, Marriage, Children, and Divorce<\/strong><\/h2>

Net Worth<\/strong><\/h2>

Gates\u2019 net worth is estimated to be $132.1 billion, although it has ranged over $150 billion at various points, with much of the reduction of Gates\u2019 net worth believed to be associated with his charitable giving to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. While it is not a title he currently holds, Gates was once the richest man in the world.<\/p>

Marriage<\/strong><\/h2>
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Gates married his now ex-wife, Melinda French, in 1994. The two met while they were working together at Microsoft. <\/p>

Children<\/strong><\/h2>

Like his father, Bill Gates has three children in his family. All three come from his marriage to Melinda: Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe. Bill and Melinda have both discussed their attempts to ensure that their daughters and son have the most \u201cnormal\u201d upbringing possible, which included limiting their screen time when they were kids. <\/p>

Divorce<\/strong><\/h2>

In May 2021, Bill and Melinda Gates took to Twitter and announced that they would be looking to divorce. The Twitter announcement took the world by surprise, but later reports indicate that one of the sources of tension in their marriage was Bill Gates\u2019 relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the American businessman who was arrested and convicted of multiple sex crimes. According to reports, Melinda Gates began speaking with divorce attorneys as early as 2019, with Gates\u2019 relationship with Epstein serving to spur the end of their relationship. The exact nature of Bill Gates\u2019 relationship with Epstein has been speculated on repeatedly both before and after the divorce. <\/p>

The divorce moved very quickly and was finalized in August 2021. According to its terms, there will be an unknown division of assets. The two will also continue to work together on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. <\/p>

Bill Gates: Awards and Achievements<\/strong><\/h2>

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Turing Award<\/strong><\/h2>

The Turing Award is given to computer engineers, innovators, and inventors who have \u201cshaped the foundations\u201d of computing. It is named after Alan Turing<\/a>, the famed mathematician and computer scientist. <\/p>

Presidential Medal of Freedom<\/strong><\/h2>

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is one of the highest civilian honors an individual can win, given to individuals by the President of the United States in recognition of major contributions to the United States. Gates won the award in 2016 and was awarded it by then-President Barack Obama.<\/p>

Padma Bhushan Award<\/strong><\/h2>

The Padma Bhushan Award is given by the Indian government to individuals who have made major contributions to India. Bill and Melinda Gates were given this award in 2015 in recognition of their philanthropic work.<\/p>

Bill Gates: Published Works and Books<\/strong><\/h2>

Gates has written numerous articles, columns, and speeches during the course of his successful business career. He also maintains an active social media presence, has a Twitter account, and has participated in an Ask Me Anything on Reddit. Gates has written three books. <\/p>

The Road Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>

Written in 1995, The Road Ahead discusses the future of the internet, personal computer and technology. Many of its predictions came true, particularly in terms of predicting the impact of the internet on information exchange.<\/p>

Business @ the Speed of Thought<\/strong><\/h2>

Business @ the Speed of Thought, from 1999, was written by Gates and Collins Hemmingway. It detailed the increasing intersections and integration of business and technology, noting in particular that newer businesses were relying more heavily on booming technological fields.<\/p>

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster<\/strong><\/h2>

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster is Gates\u2019 most recent book. Written in 2021, showcases his increasingly global and philanthropic bent. It reviews the current climate change disaster that is looming and lays out a plan to get to net-zero carbon emissions. <\/p>

Bill Gates: Quotes<\/strong><\/h2>