BILL GATES | BIOGRAPHY

“IF YOU ARE BORN POOR IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT BUT IF YOU DIE POOR IT’S YOUR FAULT”

-BILL GATES

Birth

Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington.

Education

Bill was a voracious reader as a child, spending many hours poring over reference books such as the encyclopaedia.

When Bill turned 13, his parents enrolled him at Seattle's exclusive preparatory Lakeside School.

While at Lakeside School, a Seattle computer company offered to provide computer time for the students.

Bill Gates became entranced with what a computer could do and spent much of his free time working on the terminal.

He wrote a tic-tac-toe program in BASIC computer language that allowed users to play against the computer.

Gates graduated from Lakeside in 1973.

Gates enrolled at Harvard University in the fall of 1973, originally thinking of a career in law.

His business partner Paul Allen

At Lakeside School Gates met Paul Allen, who was two years his senior.

They became fast friends because their common enthusiasm for computers.

At one point, Gates and Allen had their school computer privileges revoked for taking advantage of software glitches to obtain free computer time from the company that provided the computers. After their probation, they were allowed back in the computer lab when they offered to debug the program. During this time, Gates developed a payroll program for the computer company the boys hacked into and a scheduling program for the school.

In 1970, at the age of 15, Bill Gates and Paul Allen went into business together, developing "Traf-o-Data," a computer program that monitored traffic patterns in Seattle.

Gates dropped out of college in 1975 to pursue his business, Microsoft, with partner Paul Allen.

Bill Gates and Microsoft

In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen formed Micro-Soft, a blend of "micro-computer" and "software"

At the age of 23, Gates placed himself as the head of the company.

In November 1980, IBM was looking for software that would operate their upcoming personal computer (PC) and approached Microsoft.

Gates did look very young, but he quickly impressed IBM, convincing them that he and his company could meet their needs.

At that time, Microsoft had not developed the basic operating system that would run IBM's new computers. So they bought a OS from other software developers

Without telling them about the IBM deal.

Microsoft also released software called Softcard, which allowed Microsoft BASIC to operate on Apple II machines.

By 1983, 30 percent of the world's computers running on Microsoft’s software.

He always gave challenges to his workers. Besides, he always encouraged them to work.

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs

Microsoft and Apple shared many of their early innovations. In 1981, Apple, at the time led by Steve Jobs, invited Microsoft to help develop software for Macintosh computers.

Launch of Windows

Gates announced in an advertising campaign that a new Microsoft operating system was about to be developed that would use a graphic interface. It was to be called "Windows," and would be compatible with all PC software products developed on the MS-DOS system. At that they don’t any operating system.

After 2 years of his announcement Microsoft launched their windows operating system.

Visually the Windows system looked very similar to the Macintosh system Apple Computer Corporation had introduced nearly two years earlier.

Apple had earlier given Microsoft full access to their technology while it was working on making Microsoft products compatible for Apple computers. Gates had advised Apple to license their software but they ignored the advice, being more interested in selling computers.

Net Worth and House

In March 1986, Bill Gates took Microsoft public with an initial public offering (IPO) of $21 per share, making him an instant millionaire at age 31. Gates held 45 percent of the company's 24.7 million shares, making his stake at that time $234 million of Microsoft's $520 million.

Over time, the company's stock increased in value and split numerous times. In 1987, Bill Gates became a billionaire when the stock hit $90.75 a share. Since then, Gates has been at the top, or at least near the top, of Forbes' annual list of the top 400 wealthiest people in America. In 1999, with stock prices at an all-time high and the stock splitting eight-fold since its IPO, Gates' wealth briefly topped $101 billion.

In 1997, Gates and his family moved into a 55,000-square-foot, $54-million house on the shore of Lake Washington. Though the house serves as a business center, it is said to be very cozy for the couple and their three children.

Wife and Children

In 1987, a 23-year-old Microsoft product manager named Melinda French caught the eye of Bill Gates, then 32. The very bright and organized Melinda was a perfect match for Gates. In time, their relationship grew as they discovered an intimate and intellectual connection. On January 1, 1994, Melinda and Bill were married in Hawaii. They have three children.

Gates explained his decision to leave Harvard, saying "...if things [Microsoft] hadn't worked out, I could always go back to school. I was officially on a leave [of absence]."

" DON'T COMPARE YOURSELF WITH ANYONE IN THIS WORLD IF YOU DO SO, YOU ARE INSULTING YOURSELF "

-BILL GATES