Bill gates biography notes page

Bill Gates was born to William H. His father was a prominent lawyer in Seattle, while his mother was a school teacher and later became the first female board member of a major bank in Seattle. Gates has two siblings: an older sister named Kristi and a younger sister named Libby. The couple has three children: Jennifer born inRory born inand Phoebe born in After 27 years of marriage, Bill and Melinda announced their divorce in May but continue to work together on philanthropic efforts.

Gates exhibited an early interest in computers and programming. Together they formed a venture called Traf-O-Data to analyze traffic data using a computer program. After graduating high school inGates enrolled at Harvard University to study law but soon shifted his focus to computer science. The partnership flourished as Microsoft grew rapidly during the late s and early s.

InMicrosoft signed a pivotal contract with IBM to provide an operating system for their new personal computer. Throughout the s and s, Microsoft continued to innovate with products like Windows operating system and Microsoft Office suite. By the mids, it was one of the most valuable companies globally. As the company grew, he transitioned into a manager role, then an executive.

It is a driving game in which the player must avoid hitting donkeys. The game was written by Gates and Neil Konzen. IBM representative Jack Sams mentioned the licensing difficulties during a subsequent meeting with Gates and asked if Microsoft could provide an operating system. The contract itself only earned Microsoft a relatively small fee.

It was the prestige brought to Microsoft by IBM's adoption of their operating system that would be the origin of Microsoft's transformation from a small business to the leading software company in the world. Gates had not offered to transfer the copyright on the operating system to IBM because he believed that other personal computer makers would clone IBM's PC hardware.

PC Magazine asked if Gates was "the man behind the machine? Gates oversaw Microsoft's company restructuring on June 25,which re-incorporated the company in Washington state and made Gates the president and chairman of the board, with Paul Allen as vice president and vice chairman. In earlyAllen left the company after receiving a Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis, effectively ending the formal business partnership between Gates and Allen, which had been strained months prior due to a contentious dispute over Microsoft equity.

Microsoft and Gates launched their first retail version of Microsoft Windows on November 20,in an attempt to fend off competition from Apple 's Macintosh GUIwhich had captivated consumers with its simplicity and ease of use. Although the two companies successfully developed the first version of the new system, the partnership deteriorated due to mounting creative differences.

Thompson on February 5, During Microsoft's early years, Gates was an active software developer, particularly in the company's programming language products, but his primary role in most of the company's history was as a manager and executive. He has not officially been on a development team since working on the TRS Model[ 54 ] but he wrote code that shipped with the company's products as late as This opinion has been upheld by numerous court rulings.

In JuneGates announced that he would transition out of his role at Microsoft to dedicate more time to philanthropy. He gradually divided his responsibilities between two successors when he placed Ray Ozzie in charge of management and Craig Mundie in charge of long-term product strategy. Since leaving day-to-day operations at Microsoft, Gates has continued his philanthropy and works on other projects.

He stepped down as chairman of Microsoft in February to become technology advisor at the firm to support newly appointed CEO Satya Nadella. Gates provided his perspective on a range of issues in an interview that was published in the March issue of Rolling Stone magazine. In the interview, he provided his perspective on climate change, his charitable activities, various tech companies and people involved in them, and the state of America.

In response to a question about his greatest fear when he looks 50 years into the future, Gates stated: "there'll be some really bad things that'll happen in the next 50 or years, but hopefully none of them on the scale of, say, a million people that you didn't expect to die from a pandemicor nuclear or bioterrorism. First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent.

That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern. I agree with Elon Musk and some others on this and don't understand why some people are not concerned. He stated that it was within their skill set of being the dominant player, but partially blames the antitrust litigation during the time.

In MarchMicrosoft announced Gates would be leaving his board positions at Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft to dedicate himself to philanthropic endeavors such as climate change, global health and development, and education. During the COVID pandemic, Gates has widely been looked at by media outlets as an expert on the issue, despite him not being a public official or having any prior medical training.

Gates has a multi-billion dollar investment portfolio with stakes in companies in multiple sectors and has participated in several entrepreneurial ventures beyond Microsoft, including:. Gates considers climate change and global access to energy to be critical, interrelated issues. He has urged governments and the private sector to invest in research and development to make clean, reliable energy cheaper.

Gates envisions that a breakthrough innovation in sustainable energy technology could drive down both greenhouse gas emissions and poverty, and bring economic benefits by stabilizing energy prices. Inhe wrote about the challenge of transitioning the world's energy system from one based primarily on fossil fuels to one based on sustainable energy sources.

Global energy transitions have historically taken decades. He wrote, "I believe we can make this transition faster, both because the pace of innovation is accelerating, and because we have never had such an urgent reason to move from one source of energy to another. One was Mission Innovationin which 20 national governments pledged to double their spending on research and development for carbon-free energy in over five years' time.

Gates has been criticized for holding a large stake in Signature Aviationa company that services emissions-intensive private jets. He does not expect divestment itself to have much practical impact, but says that if his efforts to provide alternatives were to fail, he would not want to personally benefit from an increase in fossil fuel stock prices.

Wyoming Governor Mike Gordon hailed the project as a step toward carbon-negative nuclear power. Wyoming Senator John Barrasso also said that it could boost the state's once-active uranium mining industry. Gates spent many efforts to make pass the Inflation Reduction Act of because of his importance to climate. He tried to convince Joe Manchin to support a climate bill from the year and especially in the months before the adoption of the bill.

The bill should cut the global greenhouse gas emissions in a level similar to "eliminating the annual planet-warming pollution of France and Germany combined" and may help to limit the warming of the planet to 1. In response to the report, he did not explicitly address the donation or endorse Harris, but said "this election is different.

InGates rejected the need for regulation of the software industry in testimony before the United States Senate. According to one source:. Gates was vexed. After Facebook and Twitter had banned Donald Trump from their platforms on February 18,as a result of the United States presidential election which led to the January 6 United States Capitol attackGates said a permanent ban of Trump "would be a shame" and would be an "extreme measure".

He warned that it would cause "polarization" if users with different political views divide up among various social networks, and said: "I don't think banning somebody who actually did get a fair number of votes in the presidential election — well less than a majority — but I don't think having him off forever would be that good. The criticism came due to the possibility of this preventing poorer nations from obtaining adequate vaccines.

It's disgusting. Gates has been critical of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. According to him, cryptocurrencies provide no "valuable output", contribute nothing to society, and pose a danger especially for smaller investors who could not survive the potentially high losses. Gates also does not own any cryptocurrencies himself. Gates studied the work of Andrew Carnegie and John D.

Rockefellerand donated some of his Microsoft stock in to create the "William H. Gates Foundation". Gates has credited the generosity and extensive philanthropy of David Rockefeller as a major influence. He and his father met with Rockefeller several times, and their charity work is partly modeled on the Rockefeller family 's philanthropic focus, whereby they are interested in tackling the global problems that are ignored by governments and other organizations.

Among others, it supports a wide range of public health projects, granting aid to fight transmissible diseases such AIDStuberculosis and malariaas well as widespread vaccine programs to eradicate polio. It grants funds to learning institutes and libraries and supports scholarships at universities. The foundation established a water, sanitation and hygiene program to provide sustainable sanitation services in poor countries.

Governments are there to think ahead to bad things that might happen. We can't forget that another pandemic will come and we'll need to invest in being ready in that, In a November interview, he said: "What are these, like, nudists? I mean, you know, we ask you to wear pants, and no American says, or very few Americans say, that that's, like, some terrible thing.

Melinda Gates suggested that people should emulate the philanthropic efforts of the Salwen family, who sold their home and gave away half of its value, as detailed in their book, The Power of Half. Gates has also provided personal donations to educational institutions. Gates Building" that was designed by architect Frank Gehry. While Microsoft had previously given financial support to the institution, this was the first personal donation received from Gates.

Ballmer, both of whom were students Ballmer was a member of the school's graduating class ofwhile Gates left his studies for Microsoftand donated funds for the laboratory's construction. SinceGates and his foundation have taken an interest in solving global sanitation problems. For example, they announced the "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge", which has received considerable media interest.

In JuneGates offered free ebooksto all new graduates of U. The event was in support of the Roger Federer Foundation 's charity efforts in Africa. The pair won the match 6 games to 4. He also sketched out plans for BASIC's use as a universal language to embellish or alter the performance of a range of software applications. Gates has authored several books.

It summarized the implications of the personal computing revolution and described a future profoundly changed by the arrival of a global information superhighway. His second book, Business the Speed of Thoughtco-authored with Collins Hemingway, was published inand discusses how business and technology are integrated, and shows how digital infrastructures and information networks can help to get an edge on the competition.

In he published How to Avoid a Climate Disasterwhich presents what Gates learned in over a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address climate problems. The first of Gates's planned three memoirs, Source Code will be published in Gates is an avid reader, and the ceiling of his large home library is engraved with a quotation from The Great Gatsby.

Inat a trade fair in New York, Gates met Melinda Frencha recent graduate of Duke University who had begun working at Microsoft around four months earlier. On May 3,the couple announced their decision to divorce after more than 27 years of marriage. Gates's public image has changed over the years. At first he was perceived as a brilliant but ruthless "robber baron", a "nerd-turned-tycoon".

His image morphed from "tyrannical technocrat to saintly savior" to a "huggable billionaire techno-philanthropist", celebrated on magazine covers and sought after for his opinions on major issues like global health and climate change. Coverage of that proceeding brought out information about romantic pursuits of women who worked for him, a long-term extra-marital affair, and a friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Investigative journalist Tim Schwab has accused Gates of using his contributions to the media to shape their coverage of him in order to protect his public image. Criticisms included the interconnectivity of the non-profits with Gates, as well as his personal lack of formal credentials in medicine. Gates and the projects of his foundation have been the subject of many conspiracy theories that proliferate on Facebook and elsewhere.

He has been implausibly accused of attempting to depopulate the world, distributing harmful or unethical vaccines, and implanting people with privacy-violating microchips. These unfounded theories reached a new level of influence during the COVID pandemic when, according to New York Times journalist Rory Smith, the uncertainties of pandemic life drove people to seek explanations from the Internet.

In an interview with Rolling StoneGates said in regard to his faith: "The moral systems of religion, I think, are super important. We've raised our kids in a religious way; they've gone to the Catholic church that Melinda goes to and I participate in. I've been very lucky, and therefore I owe it to try and reduce the inequity in the world. And that's kind of a religious belief.

I mean, it's at least a moral belief. Before we really began to understand disease and the weather and things like that, we sought false explanations for them. Now science has filled in some of the realm — not all — that religion used to fill. But the mystery and the beauty of the world is overwhelmingly amazing, and there's no scientific explanation of how it came about.

To say that it was generated by random numbers, that does seem, you know, sort of an uncharitable view [laughs]. I think it makes sense to believe in God, but exactly what decision in your life you make differently because of it, I don't know. Since then, he has been featured on The World's Billionaires bill gates biography notes page and was ranked as the richest person in, —, andmaintaining the position untilwhen Jeff Bezos surpassed his wealth.

Gates was ranked first on the Forbes list of wealthiest Americans from toinand from to In MayGates remarked that he wished that he were not the richest man in the world, because he disliked the attention that it brought. Inhe became a board member of Berkshire Hathawaythe investment company headed by long-time friend Warren Buffett. During his tenure as CEO of Microsoft, Gates approved of many decisions that led to antitrust litigation over Microsoft's business practices.

In the United States v. Microsoft case, Gates gave deposition testimony that several journalists characterized as evasive. He argued with examiner David Boies over the contextual meaning of words such as "compete", "concerned", and "we". Later in the year, when portions of the videotaped deposition were played back in court, the judge was seen laughing and shaking his head.

Early rounds of his deposition show him offering obfuscatory answers and saying "I don't recall" so many times that even the presiding judge had to chuckle. Gates later said that he had simply resisted attempts by Boies to mischaracterize his words and actions. I plead guilty Gates had primary responsibility for Microsoft's product strategy from the company's founding in until He gained a reputation for being distant from others; an industry executive complained in that "Gates is notorious for not being reachable by phone and for not returning phone calls.

When they met again a month later, Gates "won or tied every game. He had studied the game until he solved it. That is a competitor". In the early s, while business partner Paul Allen was undergoing treatments for cancerGates—according to Allen—conspired to reduce Allen's share in Microsoft by issuing himself stock options. It was mercenary opportunism plain and simple".

Gates has often been accused of bullying Microsoft employees. That's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard" meant that Gates was amazed. A New York Times bill gates biography notes page reported that Gates's relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein started injust a few years after Epstein was convicted for procuring a child for prostitutionand continued for some years, including a visit to Epstein's house with his wife in the fall ofdespite her declared discomfort.

The depth of the friendship between Gates and Epstein is unclear though Gates generally commented that "I met him. I didn't have any business relationship or friendship with him". Gates added, "It was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there. Gates was the guest on BBC Radio 4 's Desert Island Discs on January 31,in which he talked about his relationships with his father and Steve Jobsmeeting Melinda Ann Frenchthe start of Microsoft and some of his habits for example reading The Economist "from cover to cover every week".

Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. American businessman and philanthropist born This article is about the co-founder of Microsoft. For other people with the same name, see Bill Gates disambiguation. SeattleWashington, U. Businessman philanthropist computer programmer writer.

Pioneer of the personal computer revolution with Paul Allen. See list. Melinda French. Bill Gates Sr. Mary Maxwell. Business ventures and investments. Climate change and energy. Regulation of the software industry. Microsoft Corp. Donald Trump Facebook ban. Marriage, family and divorce. Treatment of colleagues and employees. Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Documentary films about Gates. Securities and Exchange Commission Form 4 filings. Gates II, but he is now generally known as William H. Gates, Senior to avoid confusion with his son. Archived from the original on March 28, Retrieved March 20, The New York Times. June 11, ISSN Archived from the original on April 20, Retrieved April 3, The Telegraph.

June 23, The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 25, Retrieved June 24, Archived from the original on October 19, Retrieved December 18, Bill Gates: Entrepreneur and Philanthropist. Twenty First Century Books. ISBN Retrieved March 10, Bill Gates speaks: Insight from the world's greatest bill gates biography notes page. Something happened: A political and cultural overview of the seventies.

Columbia University Press. June Season 1. Archived from the original on August 13, June 10, New Dimensions of Management. MJP Publisher. Retrieved October 14, Bill Gates: Computer Mogul and Philanthropist. Enslow Publishers, Inc. Retrieved May 5, Archived from the original on February 28, Retrieved October 25, The Week. Archived from the original on May 10, Retrieved May 23, Archived from the original on October 5, Duane; Hoskisson, Robert Cengage Learning.

Archived from the original on March 3, National Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 19, University of Texas at Dallas. September 17, Asked about the motivation of his giving, Gates replies:. Bill Gates has often warned about the potential dangers of a global pandemic. InGates gave a warning that the world is not ready for the next pandemic, which could lead to the deaths of millions of people.

When COVID became a threat to global health, Gates devoted time and money to co-ordinating efforts to provide a global vaccine. He spent millions of pounds in getting ready to mass-produce one of the many potential vaccinations. Bill Gates is not overtly religion and has not specifically stated he follows a particular belief system.

He has expressed the view that he approaches life from a scientific point of view, though he has participated in services of the Catholic Church which is wife attends. Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan. Last updated 20 April Who is Bill Gates? Including presidents, authors, musicians, entrepreneurs and businessmen. Famous people with Rags to Riches stories — Rags to riches stories — People who started off poor, but became rich through good fortune or hard work.

Bill Gates foundation of Microsoft Altair computer. Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Wow the world greatest in IT. Nearly 30 percent of the computer market was using the MS-DOS system and would wait for Windows software rather than change to a new system. Without people willing to change formats, software developers were unwilling to write programs for the VisiCorp system and it lost momentum by early In Novembernearly two years after his announcement, Gates and Microsoft launched Windows.

Visually the Windows system looked very similar to the Macintosh system Apple Computer Corporation had introduced nearly two years earlier. Apple had previously given Microsoft full access to their technology while it was working on making Microsoft products compatible for Apple computers. Gates had advised Apple to license their software but they ignored the advice, being more interested in selling computers.

Bill gates biography notes page

Once again, Gates took full advantage of the situation and created a software format that was strikingly similar to the Macintosh. Apple threatened to sue, and Microsoft retaliated, saying it would delay shipment of its Microsoft-compatible software for Macintosh users. In the end, Microsoft prevailed in the courts. It could prove that while there were similarities in how the two software systems operated, each individual function was distinctly different.

Despite the success of Microsoft, Gates never felt totally secure. Always checking on the competition over his shoulder, Gates developed a white-hot drive and competitive spirit. Gates' assistant reported coming to work early to find someone sleeping under a desk. She considered calling security or the police until she discovered it was Gates.

Gates' intelligence allowed him to see all sides of the software industry, from product development to corporate strategy. When analyzing any corporate move, he developed a profile of all the possible cases and run through them, asking bills gates biography notes page about anything that could possibly happen. He expected everyone in the company to have the same dedication.

His confrontational management style became legend, as he would challenge employees and their ideas to keep the creative process going. An unprepared presenter could hear, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard! This was as much a test of the rigor of the employee as it was Gates' passion for his company. He was constantly checking to see if the people around him were really convinced of their ideas.

Outside the company, Gates was gaining a reputation as a ruthless competitor. Rather than give in to the pressure, Gates pushed ahead with the Windows software, improving its operation and expanding its uses. InMicrosoft introduced Microsoft Office, which bundled office productivity applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel into one system that was compatible with all Microsoft products.

This left Microsoft with a virtual monopoly on operating systems for PCs. Soon the Federal Trade Commission began to investigate Microsoft for unfair marketing practices. Some related allegations that Microsoft made unfair deals with computer manufacturers who installed the Windows operating system on their computers. Other charges involved Microsoft forcing computer manufacturers to sell Microsoft's Internet Explorer as a condition for selling the Windows operating system with their computers.

At one point, Microsoft faced a possible breakup of its two divisions — operating systems and software development. Microsoft defended itself, harking back to Gates' earlier battles with software piracy and proclaiming that such restrictions were a threat to innovation. Eventually, Microsoft was able to find a settlement with the federal government to avoid a breakup.

Through it all, Gates found inventive ways to deflect the pressure with lighthearted commercials and public appearances at computer trade shows during which he posed as Star Trek 's Mr. Gates continued to run the company and weather the federal investigations through the s. InGates stepped down from the day-to-day operations of Microsoft, turning over the job of CEO to college friend Steve Ballmer, who had been with Microsoft since Gates positioned himself as chief software architect so he could concentrate on what was for him the more passionate side of the business, though he remained chairman of the board.

InGates announced he was transitioning himself from full-time work at Microsoft to devote more quality time to the foundation. His last full day at Microsoft was June 27, In FebruaryGates stepped down as chairman of Microsoft in order to move into a new position as technology adviser. Ina year-old Microsoft product manager named Melinda French caught the eye of Gates, then The very bright and organized Melinda was a perfect match for Gates.

In time, their relationship grew as they discovered an intimate and intellectual connection. On January 1,Melinda and Gates were married in Hawaii. Following the devastating death of his mother to breast cancer just a few months after their wedding, they took some time off in to travel and get a new perspective on life and the world. Intheir first daughter, Jennifer, was born.

Their son, Rory, was born inand a second daughter, Phoebe, arrived in The pair announced the end of their marriage in May