Bill Gates was born October 28,1955 in Seattle Washington to William Henry Gate II and Mary Maxwell Gates. At a young age Bill did great in school but started to become un-interesting in it. Which lead his parents to take him out or public school and place him in a preparatory school called "Lakeside School." While there Bill excelled in his class work which included drama and sciences. While attending Lakeside a local computer company offered computers for the students to use and learn from. At that time there were universities that didn't even have computers. When the computer company stopped providing a way for the students to gain access to computers, Bill and the other students approached another company and offered their knowledge to help the company test it's software in exchange for time on the computers. This early exposure to computers gave Bill an ability that many didn't even understand was possible. At the age of 13 Bill started to spend more and more time working on the computer terminal provided. He ended up writing a tic-tac-toe program to play against the computer. While attending Lakeside School Bill met Paul Allen who would one day help him start a company which is known today "Microsoft." Bill graduated from Lakeside in 1973 where he scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT. He took every opportunity to brag about this feat, especially when introducing himself to others. Bill started attending Harvard University but spent most of his time playing with computers. After a short time, and after talking with Paul, he left the university to go with Allen and start a new chapter in his life. He was probably one of only a handful of people that had that kind of knowledge of computers at that time so making the decision to leave school early was an easy choice in the end.
Microsoft
Starting the company Bill Gates and Paul Allen originally tried starting a business in 1970 at the age of 15 but his parents wanted him to finish school. In 1975 their dream came true when they formed Microsoft, mash of "micro-computer" and "software". Microsoft didn’t have the best start. People were interested in what they had to offer but their costs outweighed the profits. Most people were using free copies of their software which were being reproduced by hobbyists. This lead to Bill sending out letters requesting that the copying stop as it was preventing “good software from being written." This was a starting sign of pirating software that continues to this day.
IBM In 1980 IBM was on the look for software to go on their upcoming hardware personal computers. Gates accepted the challenge and proceeded to build an operation system off of a already available version. Once the OS was ready IBM wanted to buy the software in it whole. Bill decided against this and asked for IBM to pay for licenses to use the software which became known as MS-DOS. This was a smart move for Microsoft. There was the chance of other companies coming up with their own hardware similar to IBM and by only selling licenses to IBM they could also see their software to IBM’s competitors.
Windows Windows was created in 1985.Prior to this, in 1981, Apple has asked Microsoft to help develop software for their computers. Apple wanted Bill to create an operating system that relied on a graphic interface rather than a text interface like MS-DOS. Seeing the treat Bill announced that Microsoft was going to be releasing Windows, though they had no code for the software completed, allowing them to hold on to people not wanting to switch from Microsoft to Apple. This was a strategic move. 2 years later, after writing the software, Windows was released to the public.
Post Microsoft
Worth In 1986 the first shares of Microsoft sold for $21 per share. Bill, being a founding member, kept 45 percent of the company's 24.7 million shares, adding to a total worth of $234 million. In 1987 stock prices rose to $90.75 a share bringing his worth up to the billions. H is current net worth is $78.7 billion.
PhilanthropyIn
1997 Bill Gates and his wife founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They personally donated $28 billion.Their intentions were to support low-income communities and help people without education receive it. Some missions and goals of the foundation:
They focus on improving people’s health and well being, helping individuals lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty in developing countries.
In the United States, they seek to ensure that all people, especially those with the fewest resources, can access the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life.
They invest in the well being of people. They help with the development of new ways of farming, new businesses and helping families to become self-reliant.
They invest in eliminating diseases. Not only do they work on delivering health care to those you need it but also on the development and research for better vaccines and medicine.
They work on changing people views. They work with local government and leaders to help them be aware of local and global needs. They want to fix and correct issues, not just temporally alleviate them.
Image result for bill gates charity
One of the newest recipients of the generous support from this foundation is the Khan Academy whose sole mission is to bring free education to anyone anywhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuMTSU9DcqQ
Personal Life
Bill Gates was raised by parents "William H. Gates Sr., an established lawyer and Mary Maxwell Gates, one of the directors on the Board of the United Way and First Interstate BancSystem" with his siblings Kristianne and Libby. Bill Gates met and married Melinda Gates while working for Microsoft and they have 3 children together. Their oldest daughter is named Jennifer Katherine, followed by son Rory John, and youngest daughter Phoebe Adele.
Bill Gates
Pre Microsoft
Early Years/Education
Bill Gates was born October 28,1955 in Seattle Washington to William Henry Gate II and Mary Maxwell Gates.At a young age Bill did great in school but started to become un-interesting in it. Which lead his parents to take him out or public school and place him in a preparatory school called "Lakeside School." While there Bill excelled in his class work which included drama and sciences. While attending Lakeside a local computer company offered computers for the students to use and learn from. At that time there were universities that didn't even have computers. When the computer company stopped providing a way for the students to gain access to computers, Bill and the other students approached another company and offered their knowledge to help the company test it's software in exchange for time on the computers. This early exposure to computers gave Bill an ability that many didn't even understand was possible. At the age of 13 Bill started to spend more and more time working on the computer terminal provided. He ended up writing a tic-tac-toe program to play against the computer. While attending Lakeside School Bill met Paul Allen who would one day help him start a company which is known today "Microsoft." Bill graduated from Lakeside in 1973 where he scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT. He took every opportunity to brag about this feat, especially when introducing himself to others. Bill started attending Harvard University but spent most of his time playing with computers. After a short time, and after talking with Paul, he left the university to go with Allen and start a new chapter in his life. He was probably one of only a handful of people that had that kind of knowledge of computers at that time so making the decision to leave school early was an easy choice in the end.
Microsoft
Starting the companyBill Gates and Paul Allen originally tried starting a business in 1970 at the age of 15 but his parents wanted him to finish school. In 1975 their dream came true when they formed Microsoft, mash of "micro-computer" and "software".
Microsoft didn’t have the best start. People were interested in what they had to offer but their costs outweighed the profits. Most people were using free copies of their software which were being reproduced by hobbyists. This lead to Bill sending out letters requesting that the copying stop as it was preventing “good software from being written." This was a starting sign of pirating software that continues to this day.
IBM
In 1980 IBM was on the look for software to go on their upcoming hardware personal computers. Gates accepted the challenge and proceeded to build an operation system off of a already available version. Once the OS was ready IBM wanted to buy the software in it whole. Bill decided against this and asked for IBM to pay for licenses to use the software which became known as MS-DOS. This was a smart move for Microsoft. There was the chance of other companies coming up with their own hardware similar to IBM and by only selling licenses to IBM they could also see their software to IBM’s competitors.
Windows
Windows was created in 1985.Prior to this, in 1981, Apple has asked Microsoft to help develop software for their computers. Apple wanted Bill to create an operating system that relied on a graphic interface rather than a text interface like MS-DOS. Seeing the treat Bill announced that Microsoft was going to be releasing Windows, though they had no code for the software completed, allowing them to hold on to people not wanting to switch from Microsoft to Apple. This was a strategic move. 2 years later, after writing the software, Windows was released to the public.
Post Microsoft
WorthIn 1986 the first shares of Microsoft sold for $21 per share. Bill, being a founding member, kept 45 percent of the company's 24.7 million shares, adding to a total worth of $234 million. In 1987 stock prices rose to $90.75 a share bringing his worth up to the billions. H
is current net worth is $78.7 billion.
PhilanthropyIn
1997 Bill Gates and his wife founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. They personally donated $28 billion.Their intentions were to support low-income communities and help people without education receive it.Some missions and goals of the foundation:
One of the newest recipients of the generous support from this foundation is the Khan Academy whose sole mission is to bring free education to anyone anywhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuMTSU9DcqQ
Personal Life
Bill Gates was raised by parents "William H. Gates Sr., an established lawyer and Mary Maxwell Gates, one of the directors on the Board of the United Way and First Interstate BancSystem" with his siblings Kristianne and Libby. Bill Gates met and married Melinda Gates while working for Microsoft and they have 3 children together. Their oldest daughter is named Jennifer Katherine, followed by son Rory John, and youngest daughter Phoebe Adele.References:
Bill & Melinda Gates foundation. (1999). Retrieved September 30, 2016, from http://www.gatesfoundation.org/
Bill Gates (2016). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates
Bill Gates Biography. Retrieved September 30, 2016, from http://www.biography.com/, http://www.biography.com/people/bill-gates-9307520#synopsis
Bill Gates Family. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2018, from https://www.celebfamily.com/technology/bill-gates.html
William H. Gates Sr (2016). In Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Gates_Sr