Bill Gates

William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the <a href="/facts/Microcomputer_revolution/d4CGfyDL">microcomputer revolution</a> of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> in 1975 with his childhood friend <a href="/facts/Paul_Allen/S0euHIKT">Paul Allen</a>. Following the company's 1986 <a href="/facts/Initial_public_offering/2NntDhrG">initial public offering</a> (IPO), Gates became a billionaire in 1987—then the youngest ever, at age 31. Forbes magazine <a href="/facts/The_World%2527s_Billionaires/5PPbefmW">ranked</a> him as the world's wealthiest person for 18 out of 24 years between 1995 and 2017, including 13 years consecutively from 1995 to 2007. He became the first <a href="/facts/Centibillionaire/7goIqHHJ">centibillionaire</a> in 1999, when his net worth briefly surpassed $100 billion. According to <a href="/facts/Forbes/lyULpGhW">Forbes</a>, as of May 2025, his net worth stood at US$115.1 billion, making him the thirteenth-richest individual in the world.
Born and raised in <a href="/facts/Seattle/7lYIrCa6">Seattle</a>, Washington, Gates was privately educated at <a href="/facts/Lakeside_School_(Seattle)/SwRSN7BK">Lakeside School</a>, where he befriended Allen and developed his computing interests. In 1973, he enrolled at <a href="/facts/Harvard_College/XU29Atef">Harvard College</a>, where he took classes including <a href="/facts/Math_55/NX2IXJ7W">Math 55</a> and graduate level computer science courses, but he dropped out in 1975 to co-found and lead Microsoft. He served as its CEO for the next 25 years and also became president and chairman of the board when the company incorporated in 1981. Succeeded as CEO by <a href="/facts/Steve_Ballmer/8Yrdmxkp">Steve Ballmer</a> in 2000, he transitioned to <a href="/facts/Systems_architect/SXvEJzNg">chief software architect</a>, a position he held until 2008. He stepped down as chairman of the board in 2014 and became technology adviser to CEO <a href="/facts/Satya_Nadella/rrzI2elE">Satya Nadella</a> and other Microsoft leaders, a position he still holds. He resigned from the board in 2020. 
Over time, Gates reduced his role at Microsoft to focus on his philanthropic work with the <a href="/facts/Bill_%2526_Melinda_Gates_Foundation/IW7prjCH">Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation</a>, the world's largest private charitable organization, which he and his then-wife <a href="/facts/Melinda_French_Gates/eWwKwt83">Melinda French Gates</a> co-chaired from 2000 until 2024. Focusing on areas including health, education, and poverty alleviation, Gates became known for his efforts to eradicate transmissible diseases such as <a href="/facts/Tuberculosis/ggPyovAl">tuberculosis</a>, <a href="/facts/Malaria/rN3g58CX">malaria</a>, and <a href="/facts/Polio/6dYyXUhE">polio</a>. After French Gates resigned as co-chair following the couple's divorce, the foundation was renamed the <a href="/facts/Gates_Foundation/IW7prjCH">Gates Foundation</a>, with Gates as its sole chair. 
Gates is founder and chairman of several other companies, including <a href="/facts/Branded_Entertainment_Network/5WVfumXa">BEN</a>, <a href="/facts/Cascade_Investment/naCymr6A">Cascade Investment</a>, <a href="/facts/TerraPower/PAebc04y">TerraPower</a>, <a href="/facts/Gates_Ventures/vJAT2eJU">Gates Ventures</a>, and <a href="/facts/Breakthrough_Energy/J0ogQaLc">Breakthrough Energy</a>. In 2010, he and <a href="/facts/Warren_Buffett/6607Vdu5">Warren Buffett</a> founded <a href="/facts/The_Giving_Pledge/7jF34Vpw">the Giving Pledge</a>, whereby they and other billionaires pledge to give at least half their wealth to philanthropy. Named as one of the <a href="/facts/Time_100%3a_The_Most_Important_People_of_the_Century/IQzP0nlP">100 most influential people of the 20th century</a> by <a href="/facts/Time_(magazine)/N4FXc99l">Time</a> magazine in 1999, he has received numerous other honors and accolades, including a <a href="/facts/Presidential_Medal_of_Freedom/wNtowHA6">Presidential Medal of Freedom</a>, awarded jointly to him and French Gates in 2016 for their philanthropic work. The subject of several documentary films, he published the first of three planned memoirs, <a href="/facts/Source_Code_(memoir)/uQTTLgd6">Source Code: My Beginnings</a>, in 2025.

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Bill Gates