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William Henry Gates III is well-known as the ex-CEO of Microsoft Corporation, which he established together with Paul Allen in 1975. While Allen left the company in the early 1980′s, Gates remained as Microsoft president and CEO until the year 2000 and continued to be associated with Microsoft until 2008 and assumed the position of company’s chairman. Since then, Gates has concentrated on business investments and charity work, especially as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His charitable contributions and donations are for the benefit of the general public across the globe, while his prowess in business keeps on influencing positive activities through participation in different organizations and companies.
Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington, and is a renowned American computer programmer and an innovative businessman who is most famous for founding Microsoft Corporation, the largest personal computer software company in the world. Gates wrote his first software program at the age of 13, served as Microsoft’s CEO until 2000, and was chairman of the board of directors up to the year 2008. He afterward shifted to philanthropic work, where he co-chairs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates has been honored severally; he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. He was married to Melinda Gates and got divorced after 27 years of marriage in 2021.
Bill Gates, born to William H. Gates Sr., a leading lawyer, and Mary Maxwell Gates, a United Way of America employee, is the fourth person in his generation to bear the full name William H. Gates but is usually called William Gates III. Born in Sand Point, Seattle, his house was destroyed by a very unusual tornado when he was seven years old. Gates grew up in a large upper-middle-class family along with his sister Kristianne Gates and Libby Gates.
At the age of 13, Bill Gates entered Lakeside Prep School, and at this school, he wrote his first computer program. Academically bright, Gates did excellently well in all his class lessons, especially in mathematics and sciences, and had a flair for both drama and English. He developed an interest in computers at a younger age which made him spend most of his time in the computer room of the school, where he designed a tic-tac-toe program such that users could play with the computer. He finished schooling in 1973. However, Gates’ parents had initially wanted him to become a lawyer, so he joined Harvard University, where he completed the first two years and dropped out.
In 1975, Gates dropped out of Harvard to develop software with his childhood friend, Paul Allen. The two of them started Microsoft, which from its early days became the industry leader. During Gates's leadership, Microsoft played a central role in personal computing through the sale of the MS-DOS operating system and later, Windows, which was launched in the year 1985. Windows went on to become the market leader in the area of personal computers and made Microsoft the world’s largest personal computer software company.
Later, he resigned from the position of CEO at Microsoft in 2000 to embark on philanthropic activities but remained on the board as Chairman and Chief Software Architect until 2008. Since 1987, Forbes magazine has ranked Gates as a billionaire; in 1995–2017, he was the list’s top billionaire except in 2008; and in 2010–2013. In 2000, he and his wife Melinda Gates established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is the largest private charitable foundation in the world to fight poverty, improve health, and improve education. He is one of the most charitable men, as the Gates Foundation has distributed more than $90 billion.
Gates’ contribution to the world of technology and philanthropic work has been highly appreciated, and he has received several awards, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and the Japan Prize. He was awarded the Person of the Year by Time Magazine together with his wife and Bono in 2005. He is also a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Philosophical Society. Gates has been keen on combating climate change, promoting efficient energy, and funding eco-friendly projects. Among his books, “The Road Ahead” and “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” represent his passion for technology and environmental concerns. He now works in the nonprofit sector and writes a blog on any subject, ranging from philanthropy to AI.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates comes out to claim that the use of artificial intelligence is already here, and just like the graphical user interface (GUI), it is one of the biggest advances in technology. He thinks that AI is the same important as the microprocessor or the Internet, irrespective of which industry will revolutionize it and change the approaches to business success.
Bill's net worth stands at $136.7 billion and ranks 7 in the world as of September 2024. He has diversified his wealth into different investments, such as the waste disposal firm Republic Services and tractor maker Deere & Co. He owns approximately 1.3% of Microsoft’s shares after resigning from the company’s board of directors. In May 2021, Bill and Melinda Gates decided to divorce after 27 years of marriage, and now Bill Gates is the only chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As of now, Gates has contributed more than $59 billion toward the foundation, and notably in July 2022, he contributed $20 billion. In the past, his philanthropic check has mostly been cut from his stock at Microsoft.
Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, is one of the world’s wealthiest individuals. He and his college friend Paul Allen initiated Microsoft in 1975; by this period, it was significant that companies dealing in hardware that consisted of personal computers also required organizations that could provide them with software. While Gates was in charge, he took Microsoft from a small original company and turned it into a technological giant. With his leadership, the first Microsoft success was MS-DOS, which was to make the operating system for IBM’s personal computers in the year 1980.
Gates strengthened Microsoft in its strategic development with the appearance of the Windows interface that was running on more than 90 percent of the computers in the world by the mid-1990s. Even after he relinquished the reins as CEO in 2000, Gates remained the chairman and the chief software architect of the firm until the year 2006, when he shifted his focus to charity work. He founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is today’s largest private charitable organization focusing on global health and education.
Bill Gates has been involved in various controversies throughout his career, particularly during his time at Microsoft and in his philanthropic endeavors.
In 2024, Tim Schwab’s book raises concern about Gates works philanthropic model, arguing that it conceals the unequal power relations of power of wealth possession in global health governance. This is the key point that the author of the book makes: Gates’ foundation may not solve problems; instead, it can perpetuate social injustice.
In 2022, Elon Musk gave another criticism to Bill Gates for maintaining a big shot against Tesla despite Gates’ legendary contributions to charity associated with climate change. Musk criticized Gates for making a financial decision against Tesla, which is a key player in advocating for climate change solutions such as green energy sources. Over this, the disagreement exposed the stark contrast in their stances on climate change mitigation and social responsibility.
In 2021, Gates has been criticized for the ethics of vaccine distribution. He was an influential voice in the debate over equitable access to vaccines, patent enforcement and rules in public health, and other global health priorities of high-income countries and the super-rich. This sentiment is well-rooted tension between the motivation of profit-making in the production of vaccines and the global necessity of availability.
In 2020, the board of directors of Microsoft agreed with The Wall Street Journal’s report identifying Gates’ involvement with a female worker as inopportune and resolved that he should resign. This went viral based on information from the insiders privy to the matter. But a Microsoft spokesperson refused to confirm or deny if the board has in reality decided for Gates to quit.
In 2019, Gates was criticized for ever meeting with Epstein, a convicted sex offender. Despite Gates admitting that he only interacted with the women professionally, the connection was deemed unethical regarding Gates’ decision-making process.
In 2009, a study on grant allocation was given in The Lancet and it criticized the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The study uncovered the fact that over the period 1998—2007, only 1.4% Of the grants went to public sector organizations. Additionally, only 37 NGOs out of 659 NGOs were funded in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs). This led to the debate over the allocation of aid by region and questioning the Foundation’s ability to redress inequality in the world system.
In 1998, Gates faced significant scrutiny for Microsoft's business practices, which were deemed monopolistic. The U.S. government filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, leading to a high-profile antitrust case. Gates' evasive testimony during the proceedings drew criticism, and the court ultimately ruled that Microsoft had engaged in monopolization, violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.
