Bill Gates is one of the most famous businessmen and representatives of the IT industry, founder of Microsoft, dollar billionaire, who is on the list of the richest people on the planet. This is his short biography.
The Bill Gates Story
The future billionaire had successful relatives: his great-grandfather was a mayor, his grandfather was a vice-president of a national bank, and his father was a sought-after lawyer. It was probably this pedigree that gave Bill the necessary personal qualities. Although as a child he was not sociable, did not play with friends in the yard, showed shyness, and did not pretend to be a leader in anything.
The boy's strengths were logical thinking and ability for mathematics. He quickly became bored at a regular school, and his parents sent their son to a private school.
The first program is the first step to success
An inquisitive mind and developed logical thinking led to the fact that at the age of 15 Bill was able to create computer program, designed to regulate traffic, and received 20 thousand dollars for it. The young man’s success did not go unnoticed, and at the age of 17 he was approached with a proposal to develop a program for distributing the dam’s energy.
Friendship, education and work
Like his father, Bill entered the prestigious Harvard University. He was supposed to get a law degree and become a lawyer. However, a lawyer's career did not attract him, and he did not have the qualities necessary for a future lawyer.
Bill and his old friend Paul Allen were planning to open own company specializing in computers. But Gates could not decide to quit studying at the university. Everything changed with the purchase of the January issue of Popular Electronics (1975), on the cover of which was printed an image of the first mass-produced computer, the Altair-8800.
The friends realized that they were at the very beginning of the computer market, and understood that the demand for software would only grow. At that moment, Bill Gates decided to take a big risk for the first time in his life. He called MITS, the manufacturer of the Altair, and suggested that they use the BASIC language on their computers. MITS became interested in this proposal.
In fact, aspiring entrepreneurs didn't have anything ready yet, so they had to write code in a hurry. To test it, they used computer equipment from other manufacturers, which led to concerns about possible incompatibility between BASIC and Altair.
Fortunately, everything worked out and ended successfully, and MITS bought the rights to the program. It was the date of this transaction that Bill Gates subsequently recognized as the date of birth of the market for software products (“software”). At the same time, Microsoft appeared. But in those days, the name of this company was still written with a hyphen (Micro-soft), which the company’s founders removed from its name later.
Cunning, risk and success - the birth of Windows
At first, things were not going well for the company. In 1979, Bill was expelled from Harvard for poor academic performance and numerous absenteeism. But all the negativity was smoothed over by a job offer from IBM. Microsoft was supposed to develop an operating system for the first personal computer.
Bill did not write program code, but took a different path. He bought the QDOS operating system from one of his acquaintances, renamed it MS-DOS and introduced it to IBM. IBM bought a license for MS-DOS. This money was subsequently enough for Microsoft to exist and develop quietly for several years. After the successful presentation of the IBM personal computer running on the MS-DOS operating system, the number of Microsoft clients increased sharply. After the release of Word and Excel, Microsoft's share of the global market increased even more.
In 1986 Microsoft issued shares. The demand for them was so great that Bill Gates suddenly became rich. The Windows operating system was released in 1987. It sold over a million copies in its first month of sales. In 1995, Windows 95 was introduced to the world. Within two weeks, sales of the new OS exceeded seven million.
Personal life
In 1994, Gates married a Microsoft employee, Melinda French (she was a manager). She bore Bill three children: two daughters (Jennifer Katharine and Phoebe Adele) and a son (Rory John). The children's father has said more than once that he does not intend to inherit his entire fortune to his children. He decided to limit himself to amounts of $10 million. The children, in his opinion, should achieve the rest themselves.
Bill Gates's net worth and philanthropy
The famous billionaire has topped the Forbes list many times. How much money does Bill Gates have? His fortune exceeds 60 billion dollars. It is clear that for one person and his family this is a lot of money that they could not spend in their entire life. That's why Bill Gates started doing charity work. In particular, in 2010, they, together with Warren Buffett, launched a campaign calling on the richest people in the United States to donate half of their wealth to those in need. Bill and his wife established a charitable foundation, which the billionaire has been involved in recently.
- Bill Gates made his first big money at the age of 15. He developed a program for regulating traffic.
- First Windows version sold a million copies in its first month.
- Despite the fact that Gates was expelled from the university for poor academic performance and absenteeism, in the end, the Harvard administration still recognized him as a graduate and issued him a diploma.
- One of Bill's favorite pastimes is swinging.
Bill and Melinda's wedding took place on a rented island (in Hawaii).
Gates became a billionaire at age 31. - How much does Bill Gates earn? Approximately 6.5 thousand dollars per minute!
- In 1998, during an official meeting in Brussels, Bill had a cake thrown in his face by a hooligan named Noel Godin. Gates declined to pursue the case.
Childhood and adolescence
Bill was born and raised in a prestigious area of Seattle in a successful and wealthy family - his father was one of the most successful and influential lawyers in the city, while his mother was involved in raising children (Bill has sisters Christy and Libby) and charity work. 
Parents with early years paid a lot of attention to their son’s education and tried to develop in him a sense of purpose and leadership skills. The boy often played cards and board games with his father and always strived to win.
Unlike his classmates racing through the streets, Bill spent free time reading a 20-volume encyclopedia, carefully studying page by page. Teachers from the prestigious Lakeside School with primary classes noted his outstanding abilities, unique photographic memory and unusual high level IQ.
At the age of 12, the boy became “sick” with computers. Bill was so captivated by programming that he spent all his time in the computer class, often sacrificing other lessons for this. For bad behavior and constant absenteeism, he was even referred to the school psychiatrist.
In 1968, the teenager met Paul Allen, who was two grades older and, like him, interested in computers. Together they developed their first program, which automatically created a school schedule and was unique for that time.
For their work, the boys received a bonus of five hundred dollars from the school principal and realized that their hobby could bring in a good income. However, Bill's parents considered their son's hobby a whim and did not really encourage him to take up programming. The father dreamed that his son would follow in his footsteps and go into law, but Bill had no intention of turning away from his chosen path.
Creation of Microsoft
After graduating from school, Gates entered Harvard University, where he continued to study programming. In 1974, he came across an article about the first portable computer, Altair. Bill and Paul approached developers with a proposal to create software for new car. Having received a positive response, they immediately began work. They had to write programs at night, and besides, the guys used university computers, which did not suit the Harvard leadership. 
But despite the bans and threats, they managed to complete the work and sell the software for Altair for three thousand dollars. With this money, Bill and Paul created their own company, which they called Microsoft. To the disappointment of his parents, Gates dropped out of school and devoted himself entirely to his favorite business. Returning to Seattle, the guys rented a small office in the suburbs. In 1978, the company employed only eleven people: Bill was in charge of contracts and negotiations with clients, Paul was in charge of technical support.
Birth of a Billionaire
At twenty-four, Gates signed a contract with IBM that ultimately made him the richest and most powerful person on the planet. The largest computer company in the world needed an operating system for a new development, and Microsoft set out to create it. The mediator in this deal was Bill's mother, who introduced her son to IBM management. This in no way detracts from the merits of Gates himself, who was able to convince his partners to entrust them with this important task. 
Thus, in 1981, the famous text-based operating system MS-DOS (MicroSoft Disk Operation System) appeared, which at that time became the most advanced OS in the world and made personal computers more accessible to the average user.
Bill did not sell his OS to IBM, but agreed on a percentage of each computer sold by the company. Thanks to this brilliant marketing move, he became a billionaire by the age of thirty, and the richest man in the world by the age of forty. Computers became a mass commodity, and Microsoft provided itself with work and stable income for many years.
Life after Microsoft
In June 2008, Gates resigned as head of the company and became involved in charitable and social activities. However, this did not mean that he completely broke ties with Microsoft. Until 2010, Gates remained Chairman of the Board of Directors, but without executive powers. He also retained a large stake in the corporation, namely 8.7%. 
Already in October 2008, Bill Gates registered his third company called “bgC3”. It is a small research center that provides scientific and technological services.
After leaving Microsoft, Gates began investing in scientific research, buying works of art and funding political campaigns. For example, in 2003, he exhibited a collection of works by Leonardo da Vinci that he had previously purchased at the Seattle Art Museum, and in 2004, according to Forbes, he financed the presidential campaign of George W. Bush.
In early 2005, the British Foreign Office awarded Bill Gates the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to British businesses and the fight to reduce global poverty.
Bill Gates ( Bill Gates) - History of success
Personal life of Bill Gates
Since 1994, Bill has been married to a former employee of his company, Melinda French, with whom he has a son and two daughters. The family lives in a huge mansion located on the shores of picturesque Lake Washington. This house can rightfully be called the house of the future - it is equipped with high-tech equipment, with the help of which it is fully controlled.In 1999, Gates renamed his charitable foundation the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which supports health care in developing countries and education in the United States. In 2005, the couple were recognized as People of the Year by Time.
Bill Gates now
By 2016, Gates's fortune exceeded $90 billion - he was again the richest person in the world. However, in 2018, the entrepreneur lost this title to the owner of Amazon, Jeff Bezos. At the same time, Gates is one of the record holders for the amount of funds donated to charity. To date, he has donated more than $30 billion to various fund projects. 
At the beginning of 2018, Bill Gates announced his intention to invest about $12 million on a flu vaccine and admitted that he refused to become a scientific adviser to Donald Trump.
Bill Gates' fortune exceeds $90 billion
According to 2018 data, Bill Gates's fortune exceeded $90.5 billion. At the same time, the billionaire excluded his children from his will and plans to leave all the money to his charitable foundation.
Simple guy Bill Gates, or William Henry Gates III (full name), is the richest man in the world, a computer tycoon, the founder and owner of Microsoft Corporation. Born on October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington, USA, he is the son of corporate lawyer William Henry Gates II and board member of First Interstate Bank, Pacific Northwest Bell and the national board of United Way Mary Maxwell Gates.
Young Bill Gates, biography which, of course, did not end with one birth:), received his primary education in the municipal primary school, and at age 12 he was transferred to the most exclusive school in Seattle, where he was able to develop his programming skills on the school minicomputer. Gates did not excel in grammar, civics, and other subjects he considered trivial, but did achieve top marks in mathematics. This modest, even shy, and slightly awkward child dreamed of becoming a mathematics professor and was not at all like his father - a tall, handsome man and a successful lawyer. So, despite his unique abilities in mathematics and logic, Bill Gates did not show leadership abilities characteristic of his parents.
A year later, Bill created the first computer program. This was the time of giant computers that occupied entire rooms and were “subject to” the minds of only scientists in white laboratory coats. In college, Bill Gates founded the company Traf-O-Data, which employed classmates of the future tycoon. They developed computer systems for local authorities and calculated city transport schedules. He was 15 years old when he wrote a program to regulate traffic and earned $20,000 from the project. And at 17, he received an offer to write a software package for the distribution of energy at the Bonneville Dam.
In 1973, following family tradition, Gates entered his freshman year at Harvard University, intending to become a lawyer, like his father. But he was still just as withdrawn and uncommunicative, which was absolutely not suitable for his chosen profession. At Harvard he lived on the same floor as Steve Ballmer, with whom he became friends and who currently heads Microsoft.
In December 1974, Bill Gates saw a $397 computer that his friend Paul Allen said anyone could build. The only thing the machine was missing was software. Bill Gates and Paul Allen contacted representatives of the company M.I.T.S, offering them software (BASIC version) for their Altair 8800 computer. This option suited the managers, who invited young people to work on writing programming languages. The couple left for New Mexico, where the history of Micro-soft began (they removed the dash later).
Firmly convinced that a personal computer would become indispensable in every workplace and in every home, they began to develop software for personal computers. Bill Gates's foresight regarding the development of personal computers was a key factor Microsoft's success and industry software in general (in 1986, Microsoft was transformed into a public company and in the same year Bill Gates became a billionaire, then he was 31 years old).
Microsoft's first five customers went bankrupt, but the guys did not despair and returned to Seattle in 1979. That same year, Bill Gates was expelled from the university for absenteeism and poor academic performance. But this fact did not greatly upset the unfortunate student, since he received an offer from IBM to create an operating system for the world's first personal computer.
Then Bill Gates purchased the QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System) system for $50,000 and changed the name to MS-DOS and sold the license to IBM. The proceeds allowed Microsoft to operate for several years. The presentation of a new IBM computer with Microsoft software created a real sensation in the market. Many companies began to approach Microsoft for a license.
In releasing the applications Microsoft Word And Microsoft Excel , the company has gained an even stronger foothold in the global market. Thanks to the Corbis company, which became part of the Microsoft corporation, Bill Gates received a huge photo file of Bettman and other photographers. Photos were used for electronic distribution.
The following year, Microsoft introduced the first version of Windows to the market. And already in 1993, the total monthly sales of Windows exceeded one million. In 1995, Windows 95 arrived and sold seven million copies in two weeks.
Microsoft software became so widely used that the company came to the attention of the American antitrust committee, which several times tried to initiate a case to force the division of Bill Gates' monopoly.
Problems with the US Antitrust Committee arose again in 1999, when a district court declared Microsoft Corporation a monopoly. In April 2000, the US Department of Justice proposed breaking Microsoft into two separate corporations: one would deal with Microsoft Office and Internet Explorer, while the other would exclusively deal with Windows (by the way, this operating system is used in more than 85% of the world's computers). Bill Gates' objections are based on the fact that it is technically impossible to separate Windows from other Microsoft applications. As Bill Gates says, we are calling for the fairest court possible - the court of history.
In 1995, Microsoft's policy was radically changed - the main emphasis began to be placed on the Internet. In the same year, 1995, Bill Gates wrote the book “The Road Ahead”, in which he outlined his views on the direction in which society is moving in connection with development information technologies. In 1996, when Microsoft was refocused on Internet technologies, Gates made significant adjustments to the book. The book was co-written by Nathan Myhrvold, vice president of Microsoft, and journalist Peter Rinearson.
On January 1, 1994, Bill Gates married Melinda French, a Microsoft manager, with whom he had three children - a daughter, Jennifer Katharine, in 1996, a son, Rory John, in 1999, and another daughter, Phoebe Adele. Interestingly, under the terms of the marriage contract, Bill Gates undertakes to pay $10 million for each child they have together.
With the advent of his family, Bill Gates began to pay more attention to charity. One billion dollars was invested in scholarships that Microsoft provides to talented but disadvantaged students (Gates Millennium Scholarship Program), Bill Gates invested $750,000 in a program to develop vaccinations (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization). In 1994, Gates acquired Codex Leicester, a collection of works by Leonardo da Vinci. Since 2003 it has been on display at the Seattle Art Museum.
With elastic Bill and Melinda Gates Founded a charitable foundation and contributed more than $17 billion to support philanthropic initiatives in the areas of health and education. To date, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has given more than $300 million to health organizations and more than $300 million to improve educational process, including the Gates Library Initiative, which will enable low-income people in the United States and Canada to use personal computers and the Internet in public libraries. More than $54 million was allocated to public projects in the countries of the northwest coast Pacific Ocean and more than $29 million for other special projects and annual giving campaigns.
In 1999, Bill Gates wrote the book Business @ the Speed of Thought, which shows how information technology can solve business problems in a completely new way. This book, co-authored with Collins Hemingway, has been released in 25 languages and sold in more than 60 countries. Business at the Speed of Thought received critical acclaim and was listed on the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon.com bestseller lists.
In addition to his passion for computer technology, Gates also develops the aforementioned company Corbis, which is developing the largest source of visual information in the world - a comprehensive digital archive of works of art and photographs from public and private collections stored in different countries.
1 December 4, 2004 Bill Gates joined the board of Berkshire Hathaway, thus formalizing his relationship with Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway is a conglomerate that includes Geico (auto insurance), Benjamin Moore (paints), and Fruit of the Loom (textiles). Gates sits on the board of directors of Icos, a Bothell biotechnology company. Bill Gates has also invested in a company called Teledesic, which is working on an ambitious project to launch several hundred satellites into low orbit around the globe. The mission of these satellites is to provide worldwide two-way broadband telecommunications.
On 2 March 2005, the UK Foreign Office announced that Gates would receive the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to UK businesses and his efforts to reduce global poverty. At the end of 2005, Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates were named People of the Year by the American Time magazine. On June 7, 2007, Bill Gates began to be considered a graduate of Harvard University. The decision to award Gates a diploma was made by the university administration.
In 1998, Gates resigned as president of Microsoft Corporation, and in 2000 he left the post of chief executive officer. Steve Ballmer received both positions. On January 7, 2008, Bill Gates announced his intentions to step down as the head of Microsoft Corporation in July 2008. On June 15, 2008, Bill Gates announced his intention to resign as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Microsoft effective July 2008. After leaving his post, he intends to devote himself entirely to managing the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Day June 27, 2008 became Bill Gates' last as head of Microsoft. Despite this, he does not break with the company for good; Gates remains Chairman of the Board of Directors (but without executive powers). He is also involved in special projects and remains the largest (8.7% of Microsoft shares) shareholder of the corporation, which employs more than 61,000 people in its branches located in 102 countries.
At the end of October 2008, in Kirkland (Washington State, USA), Bill Gates registered his third company called “bgC3”. Unverified sources claim that "bgC3" stands for Bill Gates Company Three. It was announced that this will be a research center whose tasks will include the provision of scientific and technological services, work in the field of analytics and research, as well as the creation and development of software and hardware.
In his spare time, Bill Gates reads a lot and also enjoys playing golf and bridge. More detailed information about the activities of Bill Gates, as well as materials from his speeches and essays can be found on the web server http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/ (English language).
Bill Gates is a computer genius and entrepreneur from the United States who founded Microsoft. Known as the richest man in the world (according to Forbes), as well as the largest philanthropist in the country.
Childhood
William Gates III, or Bill Gates, whose date of birth is October 28, 1955, was born into the family of lawyer William Gates II and US West national council member Mary Maxwell. Bill Gates' birthplace is Seattle, Washington. He has two sisters - Christy and Libby.
Gates's ancestors are quite representative people: a state senator, a mayor (great-grandfather) and a bank president (grandfather).
Bill Gates, whose biography is of interest to everyone, studied at the Lakeside school, the best in the city. There he immediately showed his programming abilities, training on a mini-computer.
Bill wrote his first program at the age of thirteen. It became the game "Tic Tac Toe". A year later, he meets Paul Allen, who will become his friend for many years.
The young people tested the computers of an American company, and when the contract expired, they easily hacked the security program. At the request of the corporation, students were prohibited from using computers. But the young people did not despair, but offered cooperation. They began looking for gaps in security programs and fixing them. In 1970, the company went bankrupt and cooperation ended.
The next year they were invited to work by another computer company. But the cooperation did not take place. Bill started having problems at school due to poor performance in humanities subjects. He could spend twenty hours in the computer lab, delving into complex programming mechanisms. There was simply no time left for anything else. His parents even took him to a psychologist to get rid of his computer addiction.
Youth
Bill Gates, whose biography is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding, founded his first company at the age of seventeen. It lasted only four years, and after its closure left a profit of seven hundred dollars. Its goal was to create traffic meters.
In December 1972, two friends were invited to work for the TV company. In 1973, Gates entered Harvard, where he could only stay for two years. But there he met Steve Ballmer, who in the future would occupy a significant position at Microsoft.
Bill Gates' success was just around the corner. In the meantime, he worked hard on software for various computers.
In 1975, he was arrested for the first time for a major offense. He drove the car while intoxicated and without a license. It was in Albuquerque. Paul Allen rescued his friend from the police station, paying his last money for bail.
"Microsoft"
Also in 1975, Allen learned about the invention of a new personal computer. Together with Gates, they contacted Ed Roberts, the creator. And, playing ahead, they lied about the fact that they were developing software. The young people were invited to a conversation and, based on its results, they were given a place in the MITS company. For her, Paul and Bill created a BASIC language interpreter, in the credits of which they wrote their names.
The guys decided to name their company "Microsoft". It was officially registered in November 1976 in the state of New Mexico. The shares were distributed unevenly. Bill Gates estimated his contribution at 64%.
In 1980, IBM began searching for an operating system for its personal computer. The deal with a large corporation fell through, and a contract was signed with Microsoft (the fact that Bill Gates’ mother met IBM executives played a small role). The latter did not have its own OS and licensed it from another company, after which it adapted it into MC-DOC.
Inspired by the ideas of Xerox and Apple, Gates is developing a completely new operating system, which is eventually called Microsoft Windows. It was released in 1985. Bill Gates, whose success story is just beginning, had no idea that he had developed something brilliant.
A year later, Microsoft went public. Shares began to be bought up. And soon Bill Gates' fortune reached a billion dollars. He was thirty-one years old. Bill Gates' company became one of the most successful in US history.
Since 1995, nearly 85% of the world's population has used Microsoft software.
Bill Gates decided to leave his post as president of the company in 1998, and two years later resigned from his position as chief executive. But until 2006, he actively participated in this business, painstakingly ensuring that the corporation did not lose its position and was several steps ahead of its competitors.
Since 2008, Gates has been listed in the company only as chairman of the board of directors, being the largest shareholder (about 9%).
Other business activities
Bill Gates, whose photos appear on the covers of the best business magazines, was not only interested in computer technology. He turned out to be a great connoisseur of art. In 1989, he founded the Corbis company, which is a photo agency. The corporation has developed the world's largest digital archive of works of art from private and public collections around the world.
In 1994, Gates became the owner of a collection of works by Leonardo da Vinci, which is now on display at the Seattle Museum of Art.
In 2004, the billionaire decided to diversify his business and joined the board of the Berkshire Hathaway holding, which owns dozens of companies from different sectors of the economy (including confectionery, auto insurance, publishing, manufacturing household appliances). But this was done rather for formal reasons. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett was a friend of Gates and also a well-known philanthropist who donated half of his fortune to charity (including the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation).
In October 2008, another Bill Gates company was registered. He named it BGC3 - after the initial letters of the name and the serial number. The company develops software and hardware and is a research center that provides scientific and technical services.
Public life
More than once Bill Gates, whose biography contains no secrets, has violated law and order. The billionaire was detained by police for driving a car without the appropriate documents and even while drunk. Last time a similar incident happened in 1989.
In March 1997, a certain Adam Pletcher decided to get rich easily. He began sending threatening letters to Bill Gates and demanded five million dollars from him. The extortionist was quickly caught and given six years in prison at trial. Gates testified at the trial.
In 2004, it became known that Bill Gates, whose biography had never previously been connected with politics, invested a certain amount of money in the election campaign of George Bush. These data were published by Forbes magazine.
For his contribution to British businesses, Gates was awarded the title of Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. This event occurred in March 2005.
After leaving his post at Microsoft, Gates began to devote all his time to charitable causes.
Charitable organization
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was founded in 1994. It is based in Seattle and has over thirty billion dollars under its control.
The main issues that the foundation deals with are the health care system and poverty. Often, funds went to programs fighting these problems in countries in Africa and India. Treatment of tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS are the main priorities of the programs.
As for the internal problems of the United States, the fund draws Special attention on the education system. About thirteen million was allocated to improve distance education and create interactive classrooms. However, educators were often critical of the reform programs proposed by Bill Gates. The success story of the famous billionaire, in their opinion, does not allow him to have such an influence on state educational policy.
In 2009, Ukraine was lucky to be included in the fund’s program. A grant of twenty-five million dollars was allocated for computer support for public libraries in the country.
The “Message from Bill Gates” has become traditional, as he annually reports on the activities of his foundation and announces plans for the future.
The fund has been criticized several times for its lack of transparency in its financial transactions. Chapter charitable organization promised to audit all investments, but then changed his mind.
Writing activity
In addition to the described fundamentals of computer science and the development of information technology, the book contains many elements anticipating the future. for example, Bill Gates described his home as an environmentally friendly home.
In 1996, the book was republished due to adjustments made to it on the occasion of Microsoft's reorientation towards Internet technologies.
Four years later, another book by the billionaire, “Business at the Speed of Thought,” was published. Gates talks about business in general and examines specific cases of the impact of information technology on business activities.
The book also became a New York Times bestseller. Bill Gates, whose photo appeared much more often on the covers of famous publications, raised questions in this book government system, education and health care systems.
Personal life
All his life, Gates was an avid bachelor who never intended to tie the knot with anyone. In 1987, at a press briefing, he met Melinda French, who worked as a sales manager at Microsoft. A year later, the couple began a romantic relationship.
Gates's parents accepted Melinda with enthusiasm; they no longer hoped that their son would come to his senses and get married. And here is such luck. A beautiful, intelligent and religious girl with an excellent education and from an intelligent family. Melinda was nine years younger than Bill.
After six years of relationship, Bill proposed to the girl. The wedding took place in 1994 in Hawaii. To protect himself from the attention of journalists, the billionaire bought all flight tickets to the island. In addition, he had reserved almost all the rooms in the huge hotel where the ceremony took place and about one hundred and thirty guests were staying.
The groom was dressed in a dazzling white tuxedo and black trousers, the bride wore a silk white dress made especially for her by designer Victoria Glenn. The outfit cost Melinda ten thousand dollars.
Invited guests included Paul Allen, Washington Post owner Katharine Graham and Warren Buffett.
After the wedding, Melinda worked at Microsoft for some time, and then decided to give all her energy to a charitable foundation. In addition, children appeared in the family.
In 1996, Bill Gates' first daughter, Jennifer, was born. Three years later, Rory's son John was born. The youngest girl, Phoebe, born in 2002, is now thirteen years old.
Bill Gates' eldest daughter is fond of equestrian sports and successfully participates in competitions. Rory and Phoebe study at an elite school. It is noteworthy that the father forbids his children to use competitors’ products - iPhones and iPads. In addition, they will have to achieve everything in life themselves. This is the position of their parents. The Gateses bequeathed most of their fortune to a charitable foundation.
Lifestyle
It is often said about Bill Gates that he is a rather modest person, both in life and in appearance. Bill Gates' net worth, estimated at seventy-nine billion dollars, has had little effect on his character. He is not obsessed with money, he does not buy himself a yacht or an island every month. On the contrary, he and his wife donate all their profits from Microsoft to charitable causes.
But we should not forget that this man is one of the creators of advanced information technologies, one might say, a genius. And he has one weakness - “smart home”.
In fact, Bill Gates's home is made from environmentally friendly materials (glass, wood, solar panels), but it is filled from top to bottom with all sorts of equipment, gadgets, etc. They say that its cost is about one hundred and twenty-five million dollars.
The mansion is located on the shore of a lake in the suburbs of Medina. It's just a stone's throw from downtown Seattle, and this quiet community has just over two thousand residents.
In addition to the usual rooms (bedrooms, kitchen, library), the house has many different innovations. Behind the mansion there is a garage for thirty cars. There is a hall for entertaining guests. Everyone who comes to the Gates gets a special drive that can remember preferences in movies, music, etc. Gates also has a trampoline, which he uses for its intended purpose. Bill is also proud of his trout lake on the property. There is no need to even talk about the presence of baths, saunas and swimming pools.
Gates is an avid bridge fan.
- Despite the fact that Gates never graduated from Harvard, the university administration decided to award him a diploma for his achievements in science.
- The story of Bill Gates inspired Martin Burke to create the film Pirates of Silicon Valley, released in 1999.
- Books have been written about the billionaire by Janet Lowe (“Bill Gates Speaks”) and Des Dearlof (“The Business Path: Bill Gates”).
- A species of hoverfly that is endemic to Costa Rica was named after Gates.
“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 the most different areas our life.
- 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 a keen 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 makes a number of 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, which for many years became the most popular product on the market. operating systems. 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 constantly improve our software products in order to keep up with the progress of hardware. 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 delights 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. Business plan or latest technology- the height of perfection today, tomorrow they 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 delivers a message on behalf of his Foundation, touching on global themes 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!