Bill Gates

Bill Gates (born William Henry Gates III on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington, U.S.) is an American technology entrepreneur, software pioneer, and philanthropist who co-founded Microsoft Corporation in 1975 alongside Paul Allen. During the personal-computer revolution of the 1980s and 1990s, Gates shaped the modern software industry and accumulated one of the largest private fortunes in history. Since stepping back from day-to-day corporate leadership, he has redirected his energy toward global health, poverty alleviation, and climate change through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Early life and education

Gates was born into an upper-middle-class family in Seattle. His father, William H. Gates Sr., was a prominent attorney, and his mother, Mary Maxwell Gates, served on the board of directors of First Interstate BancSystem and the United Way of America. Gates displayed an early aptitude for mathematics and problem-solving.

He enrolled at Lakeside School in Seattle, where he encountered his first computer terminal around 1968 and quickly became absorbed in programming. There he met Paul Allen, who would become his lifelong collaborator. In 1973 Gates entered Harvard University, initially studying pre-law, but he spent increasing amounts of time in the university's computer center. He left Harvard in 1975 without completing his degree to pursue Microsoft full-time; Harvard later awarded him an honorary doctorate in 2007.

Founding and leadership of Microsoft

Early years and the BASIC interpreter

In January 1975, Gates and Allen read about the Altair 8800 microcomputer in Popular Electronics and contacted its manufacturer, MITS, claiming to have a working BASIC interpreter. They developed the interpreter in the weeks that followed and successfully demonstrated it to MITS, securing a licensing agreement. That same year they formally established Microsoft (originally Micro-Soft) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, relocating to Bellevue, Washington in 1979 and later to Redmond, Washington.

The IBM PC deal and MS-DOS

A pivotal moment came in 1980 when IBM approached Microsoft to provide an operating system for its forthcoming personal computer. Microsoft acquired a system called QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System) from Seattle Computer Products, adapted it, and licensed it to IBM as PC-DOS while retaining the right to license the same system to other manufacturers as MS-DOS. This non-exclusive arrangement proved extraordinarily lucrative as the IBM PC-compatible market exploded through the 1980s.

Windows, Office, and market dominance

Microsoft introduced Microsoft Windows in 1985, providing a graphical user interface atop MS-DOS. Successive versions — most notably Windows 95, Windows XP, and Windows 7 — achieved dominant market share in personal-computer operating systems worldwide. Microsoft Office, bundling word-processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software, became similarly ubiquitous in business environments. Gates served as CEO of Microsoft from its founding until January 2000, when he handed that role to Steve Ballmer, transitioning to the position of Chief Software Architect. He stepped down from the Microsoft board in March 2020.

Antitrust scrutiny

Microsoft's competitive practices attracted significant regulatory attention. In the United States, the Department of Justice and twenty U.S. states brought antitrust action against the company in 1998, arguing that Microsoft had illegally maintained its monopoly position in PC operating systems partly through its handling of the Internet Explorer browser. A federal judge initially ordered a breakup of the company in 2000; an appellate court reversed that remedy in 2001, and the case was ultimately settled. Similar investigations proceeded in the European Union.

Wealth and financial history

Gates was ranked the wealthiest person in the world by Forbes for many years between 1995 and 2017, a distinction interrupted at intervals by Warren Buffett and others. His net worth has fluctuated substantially over time as a result of stock sales, charitable giving, and market movements; as of the early 2020s it remained in the range of tens of billions of dollars, though precise figures change frequently and any figure here may be out of date. He has publicly committed to giving away the majority of his wealth through the Giving What We Can pledge framework (the Giving Pledge, which he co-founded with Warren Buffett and Melinda French Gates in 2010).

Philanthropy

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Gates and his then-wife Melinda French Gates established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, headquartered in Seattle. The foundation is one of the largest private charitable foundations in the world by endowment. Its focus areas include global health (particularly infectious disease, vaccines, and maternal and child nutrition), agricultural development in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and educational reform in the United States. The foundation has funded and co-funded programs through organisations such as Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Gates and Melinda French Gates announced their divorce in May 2021; the foundation continued operations, though Melinda French Gates later announced her departure from it in 2024.

Climate and energy investment

Gates has invested in and publicly advocated for clean energy technologies. In 2015 he co-founded Breakthrough Energy, an initiative connecting private capital with early-stage clean-energy companies. His 2021 book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster outlined his views on decarbonisation pathways. He has also backed TerraPower, a nuclear-reactor design company, which announced plans to build a demonstration reactor in Wyoming, though the project faced regulatory and supply-chain complications as of the mid-2020s.

Personal life

Gates married Melinda French on January 1, 1994, on the Hawaiian island of Lanai. The couple have three children: Jennifer (born 1996), Rory (born 1999), and Phoebe (born 2002). After their 2021 divorce, Gates has maintained a relatively private personal life. He is known as an avid reader, reportedly consuming a large number of books each year, and publishes reading recommendations on his personal blog, GatesNotes. He holds a pilot's license and has discussed his enthusiasm for bridge, the card game.

Legacy and influence

Gates is widely credited with helping transform personal computing from a hobbyist pursuit into a mainstream commercial industry. Critics have pointed to Microsoft's aggressive competitive tactics, its treatment of competitors, and, more recently, to debates about the appropriate role of private philanthropic power in shaping global public-health and education policy. Supporters argue that the Gates Foundation has saved millions of lives through vaccine campaigns and disease-eradication efforts. His career represents a defining case study in the intersection of technology entrepreneurship, monopoly capitalism, and large-scale philanthropy.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bill Gates still involved with Microsoft?

Gates resigned from Microsoft's board of directors in March 2020. He retains a small equity stake in the company but has no operational or governance role as of that date.

Is Bill Gates the richest person in the world?

Gates held that distinction for many years but is no longer consistently the wealthiest individual globally; rankings fluctuate with market valuations and his ongoing charitable giving has reduced his personal fortune significantly.

Is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation still active after the divorce?

Yes. The foundation continued to operate after the 2021 divorce of Gates and Melinda French Gates, though Melinda French Gates announced her departure from the foundation in 2024, leaving Gates as the primary principal.

Did Bill Gates finish college?

Gates left Harvard University in 1975 without completing his undergraduate degree. Harvard awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during its 2007 commencement ceremony.

Is Bill Gates involved in climate change work?

Yes. Gates has been active in climate-focused philanthropy and investment since at least the mid-2010s, founding Breakthrough Energy in 2015 and publishing extensively on decarbonisation strategies.