research and write about the life of bill gates

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Biography of Bill Gates

Early life of Bill Gates

His father William Gates Sr was a senior lawyer, and his mother, Mary, served as an executive for a major bank. The family were wealthy but, remembering the challenges of the Great Depression, they encouraged their children to work hard and take nothing for granted.

Aged 13, Gates attended the private Lakeside school. It was here that Gates had his first introduction to computers. He taught himself to programme in Basic, making a simple ‘Tic-Tac-Toe’ game. Gates enjoyed the process of working with computers and arranged with a company Computer Center Corporation (CCC) to spend time on their computers – learning source code, such as Fortran, Machine Code and Lisp.

In 1973, Gates enrolled at Harvard, where he studied mathematics and computer science. However, Gates was more interested in pursuing his own coding, and when he saw an opportunity to found his own company, he dropped out of Harvard without finishing his course.

Bill Gates foundation of Microsoft

Altair 8800 computer

Bill Gates founded Microsoft in 1976 when he formed a contract with MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) to develop a basic operating system for their new microcomputers. In the early days, Bill Gates would review every line of code. He was also involved in several aspects of Microsoft’s business such as packing and sending off orders.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1981

The big break for Microsoft came in 1980 when IBM approached them for a new BASIC operating system for its new computers. In the early 1980s, IBM was by far the leading PC manufacturer. However, increasingly, there developed many IBM PC clones; (PCs produced by other companies compatible with IBM’s). Microsoft worked hard to sell its operating system to these other companies. Thus Microsoft was able to gain the dominant position of software manufacture just as the personal computer market started to boom. Since its early dominance, other companies have struggled to displace Microsoft as the dominant provider of computer operating software. Programs like Microsoft Word and Excel have become the industry standard.

Bill Gates – Windows

Throughout his time in office, Bill Gates has been keen to diversify the business of Microsoft. For example, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer became the dominant web browser, although this was primarily because it came pre-installed on most new computers. In recent years, Internet Explorer has seen its market share slip.

One area where Microsoft has never been successful is in the area of search engines. MSN live search has struggled to gain more than 5% of market share. In this respect, Microsoft has been dwarfed by Google. Nevertheless, the success of Microsoft in cornering various aspects of the software market has led to several anti-trust cases. In 1998 US v Microsoft, Microsoft came close to being broken up into three smaller firms. However, on appeal, Microsoft was able to survive as a single firm. Although Microsoft was the dominant computer firm of the 1980s, and 1990s, they are now seen as an ageing and declining company – compared to the more dynamic Google and Apple.

Philanthropic Activities – Bill Gates

“This leads to the paradox, that because the disease (malaria) is only in the poor countries, there is not much investment. For example, there is more money put into baldness drugs, than are put into malaria. Now, baldness, it is a terrible thing [audience laughter] and rich men are afflicted, so that is why that priority is set.”

From 2008 Gates has worked full time on his philanthropic interests. It is estimated Gates and his wife Melinda have given away $28 billion via their charitable foundation – including $8 billion to improve global health.

Gates has said that he has no use for money, and will only leave a small percentage of his wealth to his children. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Gates states:

“I’m certainly well taken care of in terms of food and clothes,” he says, redundantly. “Money has no utility to me beyond a certain point. Its utility is entirely in building an organisation and getting the resources out to the poorest in the world.” ( 1 )

His main areas of interest in philanthropy have been improving health, and in particular helping to reduce diseases, such as polio which affect young children. He has also given more focus on environmental issues. In 2015, he gave $1 billion to a clean energy project, as he sees supporting new ‘greener’ technologies as a way to help deal with global warming. Asked about the motivation of his giving, Gates replies:

“It doesn’t relate to any particular religion; it’s about human dignity and equality,” he says. “The golden rule that all lives have equal value and we should treat people as we would like to be treated.” – Gates

Bill Gates has often warned about the potential dangers of a global pandemic. In 2015, Gates 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-19 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.

“Humankind has never had a more urgent task than creating broad immunity for coronavirus. It’s going to require a global cooperative effort like the world has never seen. But I know we’ll get it done. There’s simply no alternative.” – Bill Gates, Twitter, 30 April 2020

He criticised the response of the US administration under Trump for being behind the curve and allowing the virus to spread, in particularly he criticised Trump’s decision to stop funding for WHO, in the middle of the pandemic.

Religion of Bill Gates

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).

Also, when asked whether he believed in God, Gates replied.

“The moral systems of religion, I think, are superimportant. 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.” – March 27, 2014. “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.”

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “Biography of Bill Gates”, Oxford, UK.  www.biographyonline.net , 25th Feb. 2015. Last updated 20 April 2020.

Bill Gates: The Life and Business Lessons of Bill Gates

Bill Gates: The Life and Business Lessons of Bill Gates at Amazon

Who is Bill Gates?

Who is Bill Gates? at Amazon

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External links

• Bill Gates Blog
• Bill Gates at BBC
• Bill Gates interview

116 Comments

Wow the world greatest in IT

• March 03, 2019 6:27 PM

Wow i want to be the real man just like u

• March 03, 2019 4:47 PM

AM STUDYING IT AND I REALLY WANT TO BE LIKE HIM HE REALLY INSPIRES ME I WISH

• February 08, 2019 11:52 AM
• By TREVOR MUFAYA

Wow,,, it has been my dream to become exactly a successful person like you… And make an amazing thing in the whole world, please if you may open doors for me to be like you,, I’ll be so greatful

• January 12, 2019 8:28 PM
• By Stephen mulwa

Wowwww Bill Gates opens the gate to my inspiration

• December 29, 2018 6:55 PM

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A Timeline of Bill Gates’ Early Life, Achievements and Philanthropy

Bill Gates is renowned as an American computer programmer and business magnate who co-founded the world’s largest personal computer software company known as Microsoft. Since the formation of his company in 1975, the business mogul has held more than a few high-placed positions: he has served as the CEO, chairman, as well as the chief software architect. The unprecedented success of Microsoft placed Gates in the realm of the rich and powerful, and he has always been listed among the world’s wealthiest since 1987. From his early life to the things he has been able to achieve and philanthropic endeavors, below is the story of William Henry Gates III.

Tracing Bill Gates’ Origin and Early Life

Though known globally as Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft was named William Henry Gates III at birth. He was born in Seattle, Washington on the 28th of October 1955 to William H. Gates Sr. and his wife Mary Maxwell. His family is an upper-middle-class one with three children: Bill, Kristianne his older sister, and Libby his younger sister. Gates’ father was still a college law student when he met Mary who was an athletic student at the University of Washington and also neck-deep into leadership and student affairs.

Gates’ family life experience can be best described as very close-knit and warm, he was encouraged alongside his sisters to be competitive and always strive for excellence. Young Gates’ early signs of competitiveness came to the fore when he took charge of coordinating family games at their Puget Sound summer house. He also took pleasure in playing Monopoly and board games.

Gates’ relationship with his mother was quite a close one; Mary worked briefly as a teacher, but later decided to devote time to raising the kids and working with charities. She also spent her time serving on a few corporate boards like the First Interstate Bank located in Seattle (the bank owes its existence to her grandfather), International Business Machines (IBM), and Unite Way. Young Gates would often tag along whenever his mum was doing volunteer work at community organizations and educational institutions.

How He Developed Interest In Computer Programming

As a child, Bill Gates was quite rapacious with reading, with a better part of his time spent poring over several reference books like the encyclopedia. When he was approaching 12, his parents began to express concern over their son’s behavior. Though he was excelling in his studies, he usually appeared withdrawn and bored most of the time.

Even though Gates’ parents strongly believed in public education, they had to take the decision to enroll their son in the exclusive preparatory in Seattle called Lakeside School. He did well in almost all subjects; excelling in science, mathematics, English, as well as drama.

It was during his days at Lakeside School that Gates’ interest in computer programming was ignited. It happened that the school had an offer from a Seattle-based computer company, which offered to provide the students with computer time. The school procured a teletype terminal that students could use and with that, Bill Gates became engrossed with what a computer was capable of doing and thus, most of his leisure time was spent experimenting on the terminal. He was led to write a tic-tac-toe program in BASIC computer language which permitted users to play against the device.

After his graduation from Lakeside in 1973, he went on to achieve an intellectual feat in his college SAT by scoring 1590 out of 1600. Bill Gates did go to college, enrolling in Harvard in 1973 with the intent of studying law. However, he had to drop out in 1975 to the dismay of his parents.

The Real Reason Bill Gates Dropped out of Harvard

Being obsessed with computer programming right from his high school days, Bill Gates knew he would play a key role as a pioneer of the PC (personal computer) evolution. From what was obvious, remaining in school was just delaying his dreams and aspirations.

He expressed the concern that the evolution (equipping every office, home, and even pocket with PCs) may happen without him. And, with the advent of the initial computer using a microprocessor, Gates and his friend Paul Allen decided they needed to be the first that would get into that venture.

According to the business mogul, that was exactly when he decided to drop out of school, which he promptly did. However, he made a promise to his parents that if his venture was to turn out a failure, he would return to school to complete his degree. He never went back but Harvard gave him an honorary degree in 2007.

His Microsoft Venture and Partnership With IBM

In collaboration with Paul Allen, Bill Gates went on to found Microsoft in 1975. Initially, the company name was written as a hyphenated compound word (Micro-Soft) but was later changed to “Microsoft”. At the onset, the duo adapted BASIC, a programming language on microcomputers. Following its success, they continued developing programming language software for a variety of systems.

View this post on Instagram I was honored to talk about my late friend Paul Allen at the Forbes Philanthropy Summit. He was one of the most intellectually curious people I’ve ever known. As a kid, he seemed to be interested in just about everything. And as an adult, that curiosity continued to influence every part of his life — including his philanthropy, which will continue to benefit society for decades to come. I wish he had gotten to see all of the good his curiosity and generosity will do for the world. A post shared by Bill Gates (@thisisbillgates) on Jun 28, 2019 at 10:17am PDT

By 1980, IBM approached them with a proposal to write the BASIC interpreter for their future personal computer called IBM PC. Microsoft was able to accomplish this, creating the PC DOS operating system and delivering it to IBM for a one-off fee of $50,000.

Before long, the operating system of Microsoft gained popularity which led them to initiate an operating environment called Windows on the 20th of November 1985. Windows was launched for MS-DOS as its graphical operating system shell. As time rolled by, Windows began to dominate the global PC market, gaining more than 90 percent market share. The company experienced unparalleled success financially and as the largest shareholder of Microsoft, Gates amassed an enormous fortune.

The introduction of Microsoft Office came in 1989, a package integrating numerous applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel into a single system that is compatible with every product from Microsoft. The success they achieved with MS Office gave the company a monopoly on the operation of systems for personal computers. With the unprecedented spread of the internet around the globe in the mid-1990s, the focus of Microsoft expanded to include the development of enterprise and consumer software solutions. It was during this time that Microsoft Network and the operating system platform for Windows CE were developed.

In the first month of the year 2000, Bill Gates relinquished his position as CEO of Microsoft, though his position as chairman was retained. He also created a new position for himself as Chief Software Architect. With time, he gradually handed over duties and focused on philanthropy. It was in February 2014 that he stepped down from his position as chairman.

Bill Gates’ Achievements Beyond Microsoft

Quitting his positions at Microsoft, Bill Gates has been steadfast in the area of philanthropy and several other projects. According to reports from Bloomberg Billionaires Index, he was named the highest-earning billionaire in the world in 2013 with a net worth that shot from US$15.8 billion to $78.5 billion. As of the first month of 2014, a majority of his assets were held at Cascade Investment LLC, an entity through which the billionaire owns stakes in several businesses. These holdings include the likes of Corbis Corp and Four Season Hotels and Resort. Gates is currently engaged as a technology advisor in support of Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella.

In 2017, it became known that a company owned by Bill Gates had invested the sum of $80 million into the development project for a “smart city” in the vicinity of Phoenix, Arizona. The proposed smart city called Belmont is aimed at building a forward-thinking community, equipped with an infrastructure and communication spine that will embrace radical technology designed around data centers, high-speed digital networks, autonomous logistics hubs and vehicles; distribution models, and new manufacturing technologies.

Out of the 25,000 acres of land mapped out for the site, reports have it that 470 acres were to be utilized for public schools and 3,800 acres for the construction of offices, retail and commercial space, and leaving room for 80,000 residential units.

Details of The Entrepreneur’s Philanthropic Gestures

The William H. Gates Foundation was established in 1994 by Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates. The foundation was charged with the responsibility of drumming up support for world health, education, and investments in low-income communities globally. It also has the objective of finding lasting solutions to domestic issues and whatsoever that would contribute to the general good of mankind.

In our new annual letter, @melindagates and I write about why we think the risks we’ve taken in the first two decades of our foundation have set us up for future progress. https://t.co/c1ewuGXyhl — Bill Gates (@BillGates) February 10, 2020

With the influence of his wife, Gates got interested in following his mum’s footsteps to become a civic leader, studying the philanthropic efforts of John D Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie who were industrial titans in the US. With that, he realized that he should donate more of his fortune to charity.

In the year 2000, the duo pulled numerous family foundations together, making a $28 billion contribution towards the formation of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In the years that followed, Gates increasingly devoted more time to affairs that revolve around the foundation. Among other things, the billionaire philanthropist has thrown his weight in support of the Common Core State Standards educational initiative of the United States. Bill Gates has also proven himself to be a compassionate employer. He announced that all the employees of the foundation would get one year paid leave following the birth or adoption of a child.

What’s next for our foundation? I’m particularly excited about what the next year could mean for one of the best buys in global health: vaccines. https://t.co/MbjNWPEl5l — Bill Gates (@BillGates) December 19, 2019

The first of what would become the foundation’s yearly “Goalkeepers” report was launched in 2017. In a nutshell, it is an evaluation of the progress recorded in many vital areas connected to public health; this includes malnutrition, child mortality, and HIV. The co-founder of Microsoft has identified both chronic and infectious diseases as the two major public health concerns needed to be properly addressed within the up-coming decade.

It’s encouraging to see these results. Typhoid is especially deadly for young children, and a vaccine like this has the potential to save millions of lives. https://t.co/2CgV8kCLLm — Bill Gates (@BillGates) January 15, 2020

An announcement came in April 2018 that the famed philanthropist was going to collaborate with Larry Page of Google in providing the sum of $12 million to fund a universal flu vaccine. According to Gates, the fund was to be awarded in grants to the tune of $2 million for “bold and innovative” individual efforts to commence clinical trials in 2021. While many people were skeptical, speculating whether the funds would be sufficient to ignite any genuine medical breakthrough, others were quick to praise the initiative and its’ agenda.

The discussion on Bill Gates’ philanthropic efforts cannot be concluded without mentioning his Alzheimer’s research. It was in November 2017 that he revealed the investment of $50 million of his resources into the Dementia Discovery Fund. According to the philanthropist, he would follow up on the initial investment with another $50 million, which will be targeted at start-up schemes in Alzheimer’s research. It has been expressed that his interest here is personal, the Microsoft co-founder had witnessed the destructive effects of the illness on some of his family members.

According to his statement to CNN, any form of treatment at all would serve as a great advancement from the current situation, however, the long-term aim has to be a cure.

One of his greatest efforts towards philanthropy is the “Gates-Buffet Giving Pledge” which he signed in 2010 alongside fellow billionaire Warren Buffett and Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. The pledge is a commitment to donate at least half of their fortune to charity.

Is Bill Gates Still The Richest Man In The World?

Gates had an uninterrupted 24-year run as the world’s richest man until 2018 when Amazon boss Jeff Bezos ended his reign to become the first individual worldwide to earn $160 billion in net worth. Bill Gates’ name showed up on the 1987 billionaire list by Forbes, which was their first with the sum of $1.25 billion as his net worth. However, Jeff Bezos’ first appearance on Forbes’ list of 400 wealthiest Americans was 11 years later in 1998 with $1.6 billion net worth, precisely a year after his company Amazon went public.

But then, as of this writing, Bezos has lost his exalted position as the richest man in the world, giving leeway to Gates who grabbed the top spot following Amazon’s lackluster third-quarter results that saw Bezos lose almost $7 billion in stock value. Reports had it that it was the first time Gates got to hold the top spot over a couple of years. Although the co-founder of Microsoft previously briefly topped Jeff Bezos when the Amazon boss reported that his three months profit fell almost by 28%, Bill Gates’ time as the top man was short-lived at the time.

Another factor that led to Bezos’ fall from the pinnacle of wealth, albeit not immediately, was his divorce settlement to his ex-wife MacKenzie Bezos. This made him part with $36 billion which was quickly recorded as the biggest divorce settlement in history. So, Bezos now sits on the 2nd position with $103.9 billion, with Bill Gates reclaiming his long lost position as the richest man in the world with $110 billion as his net worth; this is according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index . Gates was aided by his company shares that went up by almost 48%, boosting the value of his entire stake in Microsoft.

It is worthy to note that sometime in October 2019, Microsoft triumphed over Amazon in a cloud-computing contract worth the sum of $10 billion with the Pentagon. As losing the deal threatens Amazon’s position as the top firm of the cloud industry, the company disclosed that it will file a legal complaint to protest the decision which according to their spokesperson, was “unmistakable bias”.

In all, Bill Gates is the richest man in the world as of this writing. But then, the likes of Jeff Bezos are not relenting at all. Given that, he may be dethroned again in the nearest future, we can only wait to see what unfolds.

How The Billionaire Spends His Money

From what has been discussed thus far, it is obvious that a great deal of Bill Gate’s wealth goes to philanthropic causes. Outside of that, the man is prudent but doesn’t hold back when it comes to spending his money on things he truly fancies.

For instance, Bill Gates loves exotic cars and has acquired quite a lot of them, especially Porsche. He was already a proud owner of the Porsche 959 sports car 13 years before the model gained the approval of the United States Department of Transportation and the Environmental protection Agency.

His earlier air travels had him flying coach, but of late, the famous billionaire moves around in the plane he acquired in 1997. He named the aircraft as one of his big splurges during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen Show. Apart from Bill Gates’ luxury jet, another big splurge of his happens to be the Codex Leicester. The piece comprises of writings authored by the great Leonardo da Vinci. Gates purchased this for the whopping sum of $30.8 million at an auction held in 1994.

Family Life With His Wife and Children

View this post on Instagram Happy birthday to my favorite person. @melindafrenchgates, you’ve had an amazing year. I can’t wait to see how you top it. A post shared by Bill Gates (@thisisbillgates) on Aug 15, 2019 at 7:11am PDT

It was in 1987 that Melinda French, a 23-year-old product manager at Microsoft caught the eyes of Bill Gates who just clocked 32. It came to pass that the business mogul found a perfect partner in Melinda who was described as organized and very bright. The duo became an item and as time rolled by, their dalliance blossomed into an enduring love as they came to discover an intimate and intellectual connection. Their mutual love eventually evolved into a marriage as they exchanged vows on the 1st of January 1994 in Hawaii.

After Gates’ mum died from the ravages of breast cancer a few months into their married life, the young couple decided to embark on a tour in 1995 in a bid to get their life into perspective. Their love was further cemented with the arrival of their first child, an adorable daughter named Jennifer Gates; she was born in 1996.

Jennifer soon became a sister to Rory, a baby boy who joined the family barely three years later in 1999. Gates and Melinda had the last addition to their family in 2002 with the birth of Phoebe Gates, their second daughter.

A year after they first became parents in 1997, the Gates family moved to the shore of Lake Washington where they bought a $54 million house of 55,000-square-foot. Though it still serves as a business center, the house is said to be very comfy for the family. Bill Gates has expressed that leaving children with massive wealth would not serve in their best interest. Thus, his children only stand to get $10 million each as an inheritance.

View this post on Instagram Our family loves reading together and sharing book recommendations with each other. My daughter @JenniferKGates recommended two books — An American Marriage and Why We Sleep — that I enjoyed so much I added them to my holiday reading list. A post shared by Bill Gates (@thisisbillgates) on Dec 12, 2019 at 8:55am PST

7 Fun Facts To Know About Bill Gates

1. The richest man in the world wrote his debut computer program as a teenager during his days at Lakeside Prep School. The program was one version of tic-tac-toe, which enables one to play against the machine.

2. Upon the discovery of his amazing skills in coding while in high school, he was given the task of writing the computer program used for allocating students to different classes. He pulled some smart moves in the process and cautiously made some adjustments on the code which put him in classes with a good number of fascinating female students.

3. Bill Gates has always had a curious mind, he was still a teenager when he read the complete “World Book Encyclopedia” series and has not stopped reading to date. He confessed to reading at least 50 books in a year.

View this post on Instagram Summer is my favorite season to carve out extra time for reading. If you’re already starting to think about your summer reading list, here are five terrific books I’ve read so far this year. #bookstagram A post shared by Bill Gates (@thisisbillgates) on May 20, 2019 at 11:12am PDT

4. Being a college dropout places him on par with several other successful tech entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Larry Ellison. Howbeit, this did not have any negative effect on what they have been able to achieve in life.

5. A couple of years after he left college, the acclaimed billionaire was arrested in New Mexico for driving without a license, in addition to running a red light.

6. During the early days at Microsoft, Bill Gates kept a close eye on his staff members by committing their license plate to memory. However, he had to relinquish the habit as the company grew bigger.

7. According to the world’s richest man, if Microsoft had turned out to be a failure, he would have ended up as a researcher in the area of artificial intelligence.

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