Bill Gates. Bill Gates - founder of the great Microsoft empire Bill Gates life years

Who doesn't know this name? Bill Gates - head Microsoft, a leader in the production of computer software. The corporation's income has long exceeded tens of billions of dollars a year, and its branches are located in all countries of the civilized world. Of course, the biography of Bill Gates deserves close attention.

Childhood and youth

William Gates was born in Seattle on October 28, 1955, the son of a lawyer and a schoolteacher. Besides him, the family had two more daughters. William's favorite subject at school was mathematics, but he did not like the humanities, considered them unnecessary and, accordingly, had low grades in these subjects. Gates took up programming at the age of 13 while studying at the private Lakeside School.

The year 1973 was marked by Bill Gates's admission to Harvard University. Here he meets Steve Ballmer, currently Microsoft's vice president of sales and support.

While studying at Harvard, Gates developed BASIC, the programming language for the first Altair 8800 minicomputer. In 1975, together with Paul Allen Bill Gates starts Microsoft- this matter absorbs him so much that he, without regret, quits his studies at Harvard University. The friends were convinced that personal computers had a great future - and today we can say with confidence that their conviction was truly prophetic.

Brilliant Bill

Gates told his Harvard professors, “I will be a millionaire before I turn 30.” Everything turned out much better than he expected - at the age of 31 he became a billionaire.

The genius of Bill Gates was manifested not only in his participation in the development of new products for the PC, but also in his gift as a manager and strategist. He frequently meets with clients and maintains contact with his employees around the world. Microsoft is rapidly gaining momentum, improving its information products designed to make the user's work at the computer as easy as possible.

March 2005 was marked by the fact that Bill Gates was awarded the Order of the Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order British Empire for his significant contribution to UK businesses and work to reduce poverty around the world.

Bill Gates was considered the richest man on the planet from 1996 to 2007 and in 2009. In September 2009, his fortune reached $50 billion, however, the onset of the global crisis somewhat reduced this figure the following year.

In June 2008, Gates resigned as head of Microsoft, while remaining non-executive chairman of the board of directors. On at the moment he pays more attention to his foundation - the latest sensations include his proposal for all billionaires to donate 50% of their own wealth to charity. At the same time, Gates is ready to be the first to lead by example.

Bill Gates is a man of varied interests. He is the founder of Corbis Corporation, which develops the world's largest source of visual information - a digital archive of photographs and works of art stored in various collections and different countries. Bill Gates is also a member of the board of Icos Corporation, owner of Darwin Molecular shares, and has invested in the Teledesic company, which is developing a project to launch Earth satellites to provide two-way broadband telecommunications. His versatility is not an obstacle to his hobbies: the Microsoft founder loves to play bridge and golf, reads a lot, collects cars and jumps on a trampoline to concentrate his thoughts.

Personal life

Bill Gates' personal life is also prosperous. On January 1, 1994, he married Melinda French Gates, an employee of Microsoft. For the wedding, Gates rented one of the islands of Haiti. The Gates couple have three children: Jennifer Katharine, Rory John and Phoebe Adele. The family lives in a large, spacious house ( total area 40 thousand square feet) on the shores of Lake Washington. The house is full of modern electronic systems, being an example of a “smart home” of the 21st century.

Books by Bill Gates

First book "Road to the Future" co-authored with Microsoft Vice President Nathan Myhrvold and journalist Peter Rynearson, it was published in 1995. In it, the founder of Microsoft shares his thoughts on how society is changing under the influence of developing information technologies. The book immediately became a bestseller and was published in millions of copies in 20 countries.

In 1996, the book “The Road to the Future” underwent changes and was published in a second edition. This was mainly due to the change in the orientation of Gates’ company towards Internet technologies. Accordingly, the second edition of the book was supplemented with material about the World Wide Web and its role in the history of the development of civilization.

Bill Gates' second book "Business at the speed of thought"– was co-written by Collins Hemingway in 1999. It reflected the idea of how information technology can help solve business problems. Like the previous one, this book also became a bestseller and was released in 60 countries in 25 languages.

Bill Gates donates all proceeds from book sales to his charitable foundation.

Bill Gates Foundation

The Gates couple are the founders of a charitable foundation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, founded in 1994 and designed to support philanthropic initiatives in the fields of education and healthcare. It is thanks to this fund that low-income people in the United States and Canada have the opportunity to work with PCs and access the Internet in public libraries. Funds from the Bill Gates Foundation are also allocated to the development of various public projects in other countries, in particular, to activities to overcome poverty, as well as prevention and treatment viral diseases in developing countries in Africa and Asia.

It is no exaggeration to say that the biography of Bill Gates is a hymn to human intelligence and genius, inspiring many young people passionate about programming around the world.

Bill Gates is a computer genius who was at the forefront of creating the world's most popular Windows software from Microsoft. An entrepreneur whose name topped the list of the richest and most influential people on the planet for 20 years. A businessman who donates an impressive part of his fortune to charity.

Childhood and youth

Bill Gates was born in Seattle (Washington, USA) in the family of corporate lawyer William Henry Gates II, and Mary Maxwell Gates, who held leadership positions on the board of directors of several major American companies. Bill was the second child in the family, he has two sisters - the older Christy and the younger Libby.

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Bill Gates as a child
When the boy went to school, his parents enrolled him in the most privileged educational institution Seattle - Lakeside. Bill's favorite subject was programming, to which he devoted everything free time. As a teenager, the American wrote his first game in Basic. Although these were only “Tic Tac Toe”, for the boy they became the starting point in his future successes in his professional biography.
At a prestigious school in Seattle, the student began to develop programming skills on a mini-computer, but some subjects were difficult to improve. He considered the lessons in grammar and civics to be trivial in their way, but in mathematics the future billionaire had only the highest scores. IN elementary school Bill showed no results at all, and his grades disappointed his parents so much that they turned to specialists for help. The father and mother were forced to refer their son to a psychiatrist.

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Young Bill Gates and his mother Mary
In high school, Bill met Paul Allen, who would later become his main business partner, but at school the guys had more fun hacking computer programs without thinking about the strategy for developing innovative ideas.
In 1970, together with a school friend, Bill wrote the first traffic control program and organized a company to distribute it, called Traf-O-Data. This project brought the authors $20 thousand. Such success made programmers believe in own strength, defining the future strategy for introducing our own concepts for many years to come.

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Bill Gates in his youth
In 1971, Bill and Paul even worked for a professional company, Information Sciences. The guys wrote a program for maintaining payrolls, but did not have time to finish it, since the project was stopped. In addition, as schoolchildren, Gates and Allen worked for TRW, where they programmed part of the code for a project that employees of the Bonneville Power Administration planned to use.
In 1973, Bill Gates became a student at Harvard University. Of course, he was going to specialize in software, but the practical side of things attracted him. young man much more than the theory of science, so the unmotivated student missed a lot of classes. After studying only 2 courses, the aspiring programmer was expelled from the university.
Microsoft Company
In early 1975, Paul Allen learns that Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems is releasing a new generation of computers, the Altair 8800. Bill Gates gets bold and calls Ed Roberts, who headed this organization. Soon after the interview at MITS, bosom friends become partners of the company.

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Paul Allen and Bill Gates
Initially, they planned the name “Allen and Gates,” but such names are not typical for the high-tech market. Then the guys looked at the name of the employing company, deciding on a specific phrase - Micro-Soft (Microprocessors and Software). Within a year, the hyphen disappeared from the brand name, and in November 1976 it was registered trademark Microsoft.
In 1976, Gates also introduced the practice of licensing proprietary software for direct use by computer manufacturers, allowing them to build new operating systems and programming languages into PCs. Such innovation in marketing increased the organization's revenue.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs
MITS soon ceased to exist, but Microsoft was able to attract new customers. Apple Corporation, whose founder was Steve Jobs, and Commodore, as well as computer developer Radio shack, have become new partners of Microsoft.
Friends and business partners began to plan the development of an innovative structure for decades. Allen dealt primarily with technical issues, while Gates focused on developing public relations, contracts, and other business contacts. The result of Microsoft's work was the Microsoft Fortran operating system, which appeared in 1977. This OS can easily be considered the first full-fledged competitor to the standard CP/M system for Intel-based computers.
Embed from Getty Images Chapter Microsoft Bill Gates
In 1980, Microsoft achieved success by concluding a deal with the “shark” of the computer business – IBM Corporation. Gates and Allen offered a more attractive system for their new computer than Digital Research, with which IBM had previously collaborated. Not least important for achieving this goal was the friendly acquaintance of Gates’ mother with IBM executives John Opel and John Akers.
Soon Bill and Paul's company offered the computer market new system MS-DOS, which for a long time will become the main OS for Intel-based personal computers. In 1985, Microsoft released Windows, which differed from all previous competitors in its graphic design. Thus began the Windows computer era, although the real breakthrough came only in 1993 after the appearance of the third version of this system - Windows 3.1.

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Bill Gates
In 1986, Microsoft Corporation entered the stock markets. The value of the shares grew rapidly, and within a few months Bill Gates became a billionaire. The company's position is gradually strengthening. By 1988, Microsoft was already the largest computer software developer in the world.
By 1998, Gates becomes the richest person in the world. Now finances allowed him to concentrate his attention on programming, and he announced that he was leaving the organization. Until 2006, Bill was still responsible for product strategy at Microsoft, but decided to step down from business development responsibilities, declaring that he wanted to devote his time to charity.
Career
In 1989, the businessman founded the Corbis company. The main task of this structure was the licensing of photographs, videos and other multimedia material for the media. Gates' idea was that in the future people would decorate their homes not with paintings, but with electronic reproductions of them.

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Businessman Bill Gates
Corbis owns the rights to reproduce images of works of art in museums around the world. The St. Petersburg Hermitage, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the London National Gallery constantly cooperate with the company of the American entrepreneur. Bill Gates personally acquired a collection of rare works by Leonardo da Vinci, which are now on display at the Seattle Art Museum.
In the fall of 2008, Gates registered a new company, bgC3 ( Bill Gates Company Three). This acronym stands for Bill Gates' Third Company. The main tasks of the organization are research and analytical. It is a center providing scientific and technological services.

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Bill Gates and Melinda Gates
In addition, Bill Gates does a lot of charity work. He and his wife Melinda became the founders of the world's largest charitable foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which provides assistance to all those in need, regardless of nationality. The purpose of this enterprise is to support and improve the healthcare system, as well as overcome hunger in poor countries. From his own funds, Gates partially financed the Republican presidential campaign in 2004, spending more than $30 thousand.
The entrepreneur is passionate about the ideas of maintaining environmental safety on Earth. In collaboration with Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates created the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, whose work is to identify and attract private investment in the production of clean energy sources.
Books
Bill Gates has published two bestsellers. In these books, the entrepreneur decided to tell own story success. In 1995, The Road Ahead was published, which was at one time on the bestseller list of the American newspaper The New York Times.

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Bill Gates with books
In 1999, Gates published the book Business the Speed of Thought. The work has been translated into 25 languages. The author in his publications talks about ways to use computer technology to solve problems in business. Proceeds from the sale of both books were donated to non-profit organizations that support the development of technology and education.
The history of the origin and development of the computer industry was captured in the film “Pirates of Silicon Valley,” released in 1999. The drama was about the confrontation between Microsoft and Apple. Spectators and critics noted the great similarity between the leading actors and their characters. The image of Bill Gates in the frame was recreated by Anthony Michael Hall, Paul Allen was presented by Josh Hopkins.
Personal life
The personal life of an entrepreneur is connected with one woman. In 1987, at a work meeting in New York, Bill Gates met Microsoft employee Melinda French. They got married on January 1, 1994. After 2 years, the couple had a daughter, Jennifer Katharine, and later two more children - son Rory John and daughter Phoebe Adele.

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Bill Gates and his wife Melinda
For the amount of money that Bill and his wife spend annually on charity, Time magazine named them People of the Year in 2005. Their family photo was featured on the cover of the publication, which often publishes interviews and articles about business and charity computer genius. In the same year, Bill received a Knight of the British Empire for his contribution to the development of innovative enterprises in the UK and efforts to reduce global poverty.

Greetings! There won't be a long introduction today. I just want to once again write about a person I sincerely admire. I don’t think anyone needs to explain who Bill Gates is.

I once saw a funny comment under one of the articles dedicated to the founder of Microsoft. Something like “Lucky guy, he made so much money on his Windows. You don’t have to work at the post office all your life for pennies.” Just lucky! Neither add nor subtract.

So, Bill Gates: biography, interesting facts and advice from the richest man in the world.

Bill Gates was born 62 years ago in Seattle, America. The family was considered quite prosperous: the father was a lawyer, the mother was a school teacher and a member of the university board. As an adult, Bill Gates often emphasized that his parents always encouraged his desire to think and debate.

As a teenager, Bill, like many at his age, began to demonstratively conflict with others: both at school and at home. The psychologist advised “not to force the child to obey and traditional behavior.”

His parents stopped pushing him and transferred Billy to the elite Lakeside private school, with a focus on mathematics. In the late 60s, the future founder of Microsoft first “met” the computer and fell in love with it at first sight. Antediluvian computers occupied entire rooms and were terribly “stupid.” But Bill and his school friend Paul Allen spent the whole weekend near these “monsters.” Sometimes staying up until the morning.

Where did the future billionaire start? As usual, with nonsense and nonsense. At the age of 13, Gates wrote his first program (a game of tic-tac-toe). But at 15 – a program for traffic control (and received $20,000 for it).

At age 17, the Bonneville Dam energy distribution program had already earned him $30,000.

The predictable admission to Harvard did not make Bill happy. He became interested in playing poker and did not know what to do with himself. But in 1975 everything changed dramatically.

Paul Allen brought Gates a magazine with a photo of the world's first computer for the mass market on the cover.

Computers WITHOUT SOFTWARE!

The competition for such a “tidbit” was crazy. And we had to act very, very quickly. The friends worked like crazy day and night. And not in vain - the first presentation in BASIC was quite successful.

In 1975, friends leave Harvard and create the legendary Microsoft. It doesn’t take long for a company to become mega-successful. Sometimes business founders were so tired that they fell asleep during a meeting with clients. And Microsoft's first five customers went bankrupt.

In 1979, friends received advantageous offer from IBM. But Bill was forced to refuse and recommend a direct competitor, Digital Research. At that time, Microsoft did not have ready-made developments to create an operating system.

How did it happen that the order from IBM finally went to Bill Gates? While Digital Research was developing a new operating system, Microsoft bought the “raw” operating system from Seattle Computer and lured its creator, Tim Patterson, to work for them.

After modification, MS-DOS was born, which Bill Gates proposed to IBM, one step ahead of its competitor Digital Research.

In September 1980, Microsoft and IBM finally reached a contract. A contract that changed the personal computing industry for decades.

How did Microsoft take over the software market?

Microsoft's history is impressive. In the 80s the company grew at a crazy pace. Bill Gates opens branches in the UK and Europe. In 1982, he proposed to IBM management to sell MS-DOS to PC manufacturers under license.

What else has he created? In 1983, Microsoft offered consumers a mouse and a text editor for MS-DOS. In the same year, Bill Gates announced a universal OS for graphics applications.

In 1986, Microsoft shares were floated onto the open market. On the very first day, their price increases from $22 to 28.

In the early 90s, Bill Gates' company already received 44% of the profits of the entire software market. In April 1991, Forbes magazine featured a photo on its cover founder of Microsoft with the provocative caption: “Can someone stop him?”

In 1993, Windows was officially recognized as the world's most popular GUI operating system. The number of its registered users exceeded 25 million. Each subsequent version of Windows (95, 98 and 2000) caused another surge of excitement. And it made Bill Gates several billion richer.

Today Microsoft is a giant corporation with about 100,000 employees and branches in 100 countries.

Since mid-2008, the richest man in the world has stepped away from active management of the company. But he still strives to be the first always and in everything.

Bill Gates Rules

You should only learn from those who have achieved success in life. Here are five tips from Bill Gates that he often shares in interviews and on public speaking in colleges and universities.

No one cares about your self-esteem. Society evaluates only specific achievements.
Life is unfair - get used to it.
If something doesn't work out for you, don't blame your parents. Change your attitude towards failure and learn from your mistakes. And stop whining. Before criticizing your parents, take an objective look at yourself.
Not shown in films and TV series real life. In reality, you won't sit all day in a cafe and chat with friends, like in the TV series "Friends".
Do you think that the teacher is too harsh on you? Wait until you have a boss.

Back in 1995, Bill Gates was recognized as the richest man in the world. At that time, his fortune was estimated at almost $13 billion. Since then, Bill Gates has not left the top lines of the ranking of the world's “richest”.

He is still considered an expert on many issues. Bill Gates is asked about cryptocurrency, the future of the IT sector and oil prices. By the way, he also came up with an original way of taking notes. More precisely, he modified Cornell's method. Gates divides the sheet into several squares, in each of which he writes down thoughts connected by the same logic.

This amazing man is also a husband and father of three children, a writer, philanthropist, co-chairman of a charitable foundation and a member of the board of directors of Berkshire Hathaway.

How much does he earn per minute? In 2015, Bill Gates received $3.25 billion. It turns out that every minute the legendary founder of Microsoft becomes richer by $6,600. At the current dollar exchange rate in Russia, this is almost 400,000 rubles. At the same time, Bill Gates is practically an ascetic in everyday life. And he often repeats that money is not the main thing for him...

“Business is a most exciting game that combines maximum excitement with a minimum of rules,”- this is approximately how Bill Gates spoke about what became his life’s work. However, as we know, this is not just a business, but brilliant ideas that turned the IT world upside down and still have a huge impact on various areas of our lives.

- was born on October 28, 1955 in the family of lawyer William Gates and school teacher Mary Gates.

He first attended a public school and then entered a private school, Lakeside School. It was there, at the age of 13, that Bill first became interested in programming, and their friendship with Paul Allen played no less a role in his life: “I'm obsessed with computers. I skipped physical education. I sat in the computer class until nightfall. Programmed on weekends. We spent twenty to thirty hours there every week. There was a period when we were banned from working because Paul Allen and I stole passwords and hacked into the system. I was left without a computer for the whole summer. Then I was fifteen or sixteen years old...” Concerned about their son’s addiction, the parents even referred the boy to a psychiatrist.

Much later in his public appearances, Gates admits: “Sometimes I envy those who program. After I stopped programming for Microsoft, I myself often half-jokingly said in meetings: “Maybe I’ll come over this weekend and write this program myself.” Now I don’t say that anymore, but I think about it all the time.”. In general, the result of the training was almost complete indifference to humanitarian subjects in comparison with an ardent interest in the exact sciences.

After graduating from school in 1973, Gates entered Harvard University. There, in a student dormitory, a fateful acquaintance took place with Steve Ballmer, with whom Gates developed the BASIC programming language. Ballmer subsequently took the post of vice president of Microsoft.

However, after his second year, Gates was expelled from the university. However, his studies at that time worried him less and less: he was captivated by the idea of developing software for personal computers in which accurately guessed the future. Later in his "Road of the Future" he will say: “One of the most important lessons taught by the computer industry is that to the user, the value of a computer is determined primarily by the quality and variety of existing programs».

In 1975, Gates and Allen created Micro-Soft, which later became Microsoft Corporation. Having based the company's work on the desire to make working on a PC as simple and user-friendly as possible, Bill Gates is gradually building the most influential corporation in the software industry, which has a developed network of branches around the world. To this end, he takes a series strategic decisions, relies on innovative research and development, investing considerable funds in this area.

In 1983, Allen left the company, unable to find mutual understanding with Gates regarding development strategy.

In 1985, the first version of Windows, 1.0, was released. for many years which has become the most popular product on the operating systems market. Subsequently, releases were released at intervals of 2-3 years, until another breakthrough was made in 1995: the system came out with a radically updated interface, separate NT and server lines appeared.

“They don’t switch to other versions just because bugs are fixed. This is absolutely true. The dumbest idea I've ever heard of is to upgrade to new versions of software because bugs have been fixed. When we make new versions, we add new features that people ask us for,” says Gates.

Since 1995, developments for mobile devices have been introduced, which later grew into a line of products called Windows Mobile. Every year, improving and releasing new versions of the product, Microsoft won an increasing share of the market, until in 2004 antitrust sanctions were first applied to it. But to this day, Windows OS is used on 90% of personal computers.

In 1995, Bill Gates’ famous book entitled “The Road to the Future” was published.

In it, Gates outlines his views on the future development of society in the era of information technology:

I think they're coming interesting times. Never before have there been so many opportunities to do what previously seemed simply impossible. Now is the best time to open a new business, move science forward (for example, medicine, which improves the quality of life), and not lose contact with friends and family. It is very important to discuss both the good and bad sides of technological progress as widely as possible, so that its direction is determined by the whole society, and not just specialists.

We are forced to tirelessly improve our software products to keep up with hardware advancements. Each subsequent version only gains acceptance from new users if it is accepted by existing customers... Only major advances can convince enough people that improved versions are worth the cost.

The end for a market leader can come very quickly. When you are suddenly thrown out of a positive feedback loop, it is often too late to change anything: all the benefits of a negative spiral come into play. The most difficult thing, therefore, is to catch the first signs of a crisis and begin to act when, it would seem, things are going well.

The book was published in more than 20 countries and entered the bestseller list. However, already in 1996, Gates made adjustments to it: the company made a powerful turn towards Internet technologies, and it was interactive networks that were emphasized in the second edition of “The Road to the Future.”

In 1999, a second book entitled “Business at the Speed of Thought” was published, co-authored with Collins Hemmingway. Here, Gates elaborates on how information technology can impact a wide range of business areas: “The most reliable way to distinguish your company from competitors, to break away from the crowd of pursuers, is to organize your work with information well”. Gates directs proceeds from the sale of the book to a special fund, the purpose of which is to support the introduction of information technology into the educational process.

Gates' interests also include biotechnology, communications and all kinds of innovative developments in the IT field. He regularly acquires companies and invests in projects where he sees good prospects. One of these projects was, in particular, the launch of several hundred satellites into low Earth orbit in order to provide two-way broadband communications. And in 2008, he founded his third company, bgC3, which is engaged in research in the field of science and high technology.

In 1994, Gates married Melinda French, who works as a product manager for Microsoft. Bill and Melinda have three children - Jennifer Katharine, Rory John and Phoebe Adele. Together they organized charitable foundation Bill and Melinda Gates.

In 2005, Bill Gates was awarded the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to British businesses and solving the problems of the poor around the world. That same year, Time magazine named Bill and his wife People of the Year.

In 2008, Bill Gates stepped down from direct leadership of Microsoft, still remaining Chairman of the Board of Directors and overseeing special projects. And in 2010, he left the post of president of the corporation, handing over the reins to Steve Ballmer.

His passion for biotechnology and all kinds of electronic devices also affected his life: with a rather modest design, the Gates’ house is literally crammed with all kinds of gadgets. At the same time, the life of the Microsoft founder can be called ascetic, without any frills or hints of luxury. What in its own way makes Gates similar to his eternal antagonist - .

The ceiling of his library features quotes from The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald's legendary book that chronicles an iconic era in American history. To some extent, Gates’s own life credo intersects with the moral of the book: “Success is a bad teacher. He's dizzy. He's unreliable. A business plan or the latest technology is the height of perfection today; tomorrow it can be as hopelessly outdated as eight-track tape recorders, vacuum tube televisions or mainframes. I watched closely as this happened. Long and careful observation of many companies helped to draw good lessons and taught us how to plan for years to come.”.

Bill Gates' personal qualities and hobbies include his love of reading, golf and bridge. He was repeatedly recognized as the richest man on the planet - from 1996 to 2007 and in 2009. At that time, his fortune was estimated at $50 billion, but according to the latest data, it decreased by 7 billion due to the global financial crises.

The Microsoft founder remains one of the most generous philanthropists of our time. To date, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated about $28 billion to various initiatives in the fields of education, health, and charity.

And, of course, this man is still one of the most prominent figures in the IT field and beyond, rightfully called a “living legend” and a true icon for businessmen around the world. Every year, since 2009, he addresses a message on behalf of his Foundation, touching on global topics for all humanity: infant mortality, the fight against AIDS and polio, the economic crisis, agriculture, aid to third world countries, innovation and education.

There is also a movie about Gates called “Pirates of Silicon Valley.” It chronicles the emergence of the Bill Gates we all know. By the way, a short review of this film will be on my blog soon.

Good luck to you friends, achieve success!

Biography of Bill Gates

In this article I will talk about an entrepreneur, public figure, one of the founders of Microsoft. So, William Henry Gates III born October 28, 1955 in Seattle.

Bill at an early age

Grew up in large family with two sisters - Libby and Christy.

Bill Gates and his sisters

The parents were quite business people: mother Mary Maxwell Gates was on the board of directors of the bank and the national council, and father William Henry Gates worked as a lawyer.

Bill Gates's parents

From a young age, Bill was passionate about programming, studying at the most privileged school in Seattle, where he actively developed his skills in this area. Our hero wrote his first program at the age of 13. These were the all-time popular “Tic Tac Toe”, which the boy implemented in the BASIC language.

Gates in childhood

At school, Gates excelled in mathematics, but was indifferent to humanities subjects. The boy was even sent to a psychiatrist, but this did not change anything. Bill was truly obsessed with computers. He devoted all his free time to this business, including weekends. He even skipped some classes and sat in the computer lab until late at night.

Bill in school years

During his school years, the future billionaire met Paul Allen, who was two grades older than him. They often hung out in the classroom, testing the computers provided to them. But when the time allotted for Bill and his friend to work in the computer laboratory expired, they, without thinking twice, stole passwords and hacked the system, for which they were punished by a ban on working with a PC throughout the summer. During this period the guy was about 15-16 years old. After the conflict was settled, the comrades offered the company to find errors in their software in exchange for the opportunity to work on their computers. The organization agreed and their cooperation continued until 1970, when they went bankrupt.

Young Bill Gates

At age 17, Gates, Paul Allen, and Paul Gilbert founded Traf-O-Data. The company's main goal is to create meters for reading road traffic and generating reports for traffic engineers. In 1973, after graduating from school, the young man entered Harvard University, where he met his future companion Steve Ballmer. After 2 years, Bill is expelled. And he decided to devote himself entirely to programming, without being distracted by his studies. In January 1975, the American computer magazine Popular Electronics published an article about the new Altair 8800 personal computer. After reading the article, Gates contacted the president of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, Ed Roberts, and told him that he and his friends were working on software for this computer. But in fact, Gates and Allen had nothing to do with the Altair 8800. The MITS president invited them to his office and within a few weeks they were already working for him. And here it is, that very moment: Gates and Allen create the Micro-Soft company specifically to develop programs for MITS, in Albuquerque. The hyphen was later removed and a new trademark, "Microsoft", was registered on November 26, 1976.

Corporation logo from 1975

Initially, Microsoft did not have its own OS, so it licensed the 86-DOS (QDOS) system from Seattle Computer Products. Subsequently, Microsoft completely bought the rights to 86-DOS, after which, after working on it, it was completely adapted for IBM personal computers. This is how the MS-DOS operating system appeared and the collaboration between Microsoft and IBM began. In the 80s, their company had already become one of the largest players in the software market, and by the early 90s it had become a huge corporation. By the way, in the early years he actively collaborated with Microsoft.

Bill and Steve Jobs at a conference (05/31/2007)

Next, the corporation is working on a completely new operating system, the idea of which was clearly borrowed from Xerox and Apple. And already on November 20, 1985 it was published - Microsoft Windows. It was this OS that gave birth to a new era in computer technologies. And thanks to her, Bill Gates became successful and richest man peace.

Preview: Wikimedia Commons - World Economic Forum
Life Story of Bill Gates - Documentary ("The Biography Channel", still images)
Wikimedia Commons - Joi Ito from Inbamura, Japan
Social media
Bill Gates' personal archive

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