Bill Gates is the co-founder of Microsoft and one of the richest men in the world. Gates was a software genius who dropped out of Harvard University and went on to become highly successful in the technology field. He now spends much of his time doing charity work through Bill. and the Melinda Gates Foundation.
Bill Gates is perhaps best known as one of the world’s richest people, becoming the first centillionaire in history in 1999 at the height of his career at Microsoft.
But wealth is not all that defines this complex, accomplished, and highly influential person. His other titles include, unsurprisingly, his role as philanthropist, entrepreneur, software developer, father, and occasional lightning rod for controversy.
To understand Bill Gates as a whole, take a closer look at the various aspects of his life and learn more about the legendary Microsoft CEO, co-founder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the man whose efforts shaped so much. We need to piece together a portrait of a unique person. In the late 20th and early 21st century decades.
Gates’ childhood and early life
Gates, 69, was born in Seattle, Washington, in the fall of 1955. He was the only son in his family and had two sisters, Christian, who was one year older, and Libby, who was nine years younger.
Gates developed a love for technology during his childhood. He largely avoided sports and typical childhood activities, instead becoming interested in technology early on. He wrote his first line of code while still a teenager. It was a software program that allowed humans to play tic-tac-toe against computers.
Bill Gates was a computer genius from an early age and later dropped out of Harvard University to found Microsoft. Associated Press
By the time Bill Gates was a high school student at Lakeside Prep School, he was writing code for the school itself and soon began working with Computer Center Corporation. Computer Center Corporation was a local Seattle company that offered computer time to users, but personal computers were not yet widespread. About the future. (Gates was briefly expelled from CCC for sneaking in a line of code that extended the machine’s usage time.)
Bill Gates enrolled at Harvard University in the fall of 1973, but did not receive a college degree.
Microsoft’s foundation and growth
In January 1975, Gates and fellow software genius and childhood friend Paul Allen moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to work for a company called Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS). This company had just started developing PCs (for personal use). computer). Mr. Gates was able to persuade management to allow him and Mr. Allen to develop software for the new hardware.
That role didn’t last long. Later that year, Gates and Allen founded their own company, today known as Microsoft, which stands for “microcomputer” and “software.”
Gates and his longtime friend Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft, which launched the hugely successful Windows operating system just a few years later. Doug Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images
Microsoft moved to Bellevue, Washington in 1979, and in 1980 signed a deal with technology giant IBM to develop an operating system for its first consumer PC. MS-DOS 1.0 OS was released the following summer.
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And just four years later, in 1985, Microsoft released the first version of its now vaunted Windows OS. Since then, new versions of Windows have appeared every few years, and Windows has grown so dominant that nearly three-quarters of the world’s computers run Windows.
Allen retired from Microsoft in 1983 for health reasons (though he would go on to live another quarter of a century), but Gates remained CEO until the summer of 2008, after which he continued to lead the company he grew. voluntarily resigned from his leadership role. In the same year, the company enjoyed revenues of more than $60 billion.
Gates’ career and philanthropy after Microsoft
After Gates resigned as CEO of Microsoft, he became co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a charity he founded in 2000 with his then-wife Melinda Gates. Gates founded the organization in 1994 under the name William H. Gates Foundation. )
BMFG is a non-profit organization that operates globally, but it also owns a large amount of Microsoft stock, making it a considerable profit. The foundation has offices around the world and, in the words of its website, “The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is committed to the belief that all lives have equal value and that all people We work to help you live a healthy and productive life.”
BMGF funds research to combat malnutrition, malaria and gender inequality, and supports activities such as agricultural development and clean water programs.
The foundation has an endowment of more than $75 billion and plans to spend a staggering $8.6 billion on philanthropy in 2024. Bill Gates has donated an estimated $36 billion or more of his personal fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Gates’ relationships and friendships
Bill Gates and Melinda Gates were married for 27 years. Scott Olson/Getty Images
Bill Gates married Melinda French Gates (née Melinda Ann French) on New Year’s Day 1994 on Lanai, Hawaii. The couple met at work, where Melinda was an employee of Microsoft, but she left the company in 1996 to focus on her family and soon philanthropy.
The Gateses have three children and will remain married for 27 years until their divorce on August 2, 2021. There are several reasons for the divorce, but Gates reportedly vacationed with ex-girlfriend Ann Winblad every weekend (and, although this was always denied, did have a physical relationship). (possibly). It was an arrangement that Melinda Gates tacitly approved, albeit with displeasure.
The biggest problem, and in fact the one that ultimately forced Melinda French Gates to dissolve their union, was that Bill Gates, a financier and convicted sex offender, committed suicide in a New York City jail. She regularly dated Jeffrey Epstein, a suspected human trafficker who died in 2011. 2019.
Gates is currently dating Paula Heard, who was born in 1962 and is seven years his junior. Ms. Hurd was previously married to the late Oracle Co-CEO Mark Hurd, has two adult daughters, and is primarily involved in coordinating and planning large-scale philanthropic events.
Gates and Heard have been known to have been dating since early 2023, but they never appeared together at a major public event until April of the following year, when they accompanied each other to a major red carpet event.
Melinda French Gates reportedly briefly dated a Fox News correspondent named John du Prez, but the two are no longer together.
Another contentious relationship, also one that soured over the years, is Gates’ friendship with billionaire Warren Buffett. The two remained close for decades, and their relationship was more than just intimacy. Gates joined the board of Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway in 2004 and will remain on the board until 2020.
Gates and Buffett were once close friends. Rick Wilking/Reuters
Mr. Buffett served on the BMGF Board of Directors from 2006 to 2021. Mr. Buffett resigned and gave Mr. Gates the cold shoulder for much the same reason as the divorce. Mr. Buffett was deeply troubled by the relationship between Mr. Gates and Mr. Epstein. He also came to dislike the growing bureaucracy of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and was displeased with how rude Gates was often to others.
There are also some outlandish conspiracy theories about Bill Gates. For example, Bill Gates was behind plans to microchip COVID-19 vaccines, and Gates wanted to abolish America’s livestock industry and force people to eat insects instead. A foundation backed by Gates that was developing a new way to make infant formula caused a national milk powder shortage.
Of course, there is no evidence to support these conspiracies, and there is plenty of common sense to debunk them, but these and other outlandish theories nonetheless exist.
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Bill Gates net worth and land
Mr. Gates owns numerous properties and approximately 275,000 acres of farmland throughout the United States. Ted Soki/Corbis via Getty Images
Bill Gates’ net worth can fluctuate by millions a day as the market rises and falls, but it typically hovers around $160 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This puts him in the bottom half of the top 10 richest people in the world. As mentioned earlier, he achieved the top title in 1995 and held it for most years until 2017.
Gates has fewer assets today, largely because he has given away much of it in the name of philanthropy.
Currently, Bill Gates’ main property is a 66,000-square-foot mansion in Medina, Washington, just east of Seattle and across Lake Washington. Construction took seven years and involved 300 workers. There are 6 kitchens and 24 bathrooms.
Mr. Gates also owns extensive farmland totaling approximately 275,000 acres. For comparison, all five boroughs of New York City are just 193,700 acres. In a Reddit Q&A session (called “AMA” for “Ask Me Anything”), Gates explained his vast holdings, saying, “I own 4,000 acres of farmland in the United States. I am investing in these farms to increase productivity and create more jobs. In fact, all these decisions are made by me. conducted by our investment team.
Gates’ lifestyle, hobbies and beliefs
Gates has a 2,500 square foot gym in his mansion and is a strong believer in the benefits of exercise. He reportedly works out for at least an hour every day, including running, swimming, tennis, and strength training. He is also reportedly a pickleball fan.
Although Gates grew up attending a Protestant Reformed church, he was drawn to the Catholic Church in the 2010s, largely because of Melinda’s influence. These days, he seems to have become an eccentric agnostic, and religion doesn’t play a very important role in his life.
But books play a big role. Gates claims to read up to 50 books a year. It also collects rare books, including a manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci that cost well over $30 million.
Like many other billionaires and tech tycoons, Gates collects cars and has a 23-car garage at his home in Washington. His collection is filled with both high-end sports cars and luxury cars. And apparently a blue Ford Focus.
