Therefore, if you want to know how Gates, who did not complete his studies at Harvard University, to fulfill his parents’ dream of becoming a lawman, became one of the richest people in the world, topping Forbes’ list as the richest man in the world for several years, and currently ranks fourth, then you should read these following lines, which contain many... Information about an inspiring success story.
Who is Bill Gates?
Born William Henry Gates III on October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington, Gates grew up in an upper-middle-class family with his older sister Christiane and younger sister Libby.
Gates had a close relationship with his mother, Mary, who after a short career as a teacher devoted her time to helping raise the children and working in civic affairs and charities. She also served on several corporate boards, including the boards of First Interstate Bank in Seattle (which Founded by her grandfather), United Way and International Business Machines (IBM). She accompanied Gates when she volunteered in schools and community organizations.
Gates was an avid reader as a child, spending long hours reading reference books such as encyclopedias. Around the age of 11 or 12, Gates' parents began to worry about his behavior. He was doing well in school, but he began to feel bored and withdrawn at times, and his parents were concerned that he might become a loner.
When Gates was 13, his parents enrolled him in Seattle's exclusive Lakeside Prep School. While at Lakeside School, a computer company in Seattle offered to provide computer time for students, and Gates became fascinated by what a computer could do and spent much of his free time working on it. Gates graduated from Lakeside in 1973. He scored a 1590 out of 1600 on the college SAT test, a significant accomplishment.
Meeting his partner Paul Allen
Gates met Paul Allen, who was two years older than him, in high school at Lakeside School, and they became fast friends, bonding over their shared enthusiasm for computers, even though they were very different people. Allen was more reserved and shy, while Gates was feisty and sometimes combative.
In 1970, at the age of fifteen, Gates and Allen began working together, developing “Traf-o-Data,” a computer program that monitored traffic patterns in Seattle. They were paid $20,000 for their efforts. Gates and Allen wanted to start their own company, But Gates' parents wanted him to finish his studies and go to university, where they hoped he would become a lawyer.
Allen went to Washington State University, while Gates went to Harvard, although they stayed in touch. After attending college for two years, Allen dropped out and moved to Boston, Massachusetts, to work for Honeywell. He left for a placement at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (HITS ), at that time Gates also left Harvard to work with him, and together they founded Microsoft
Founding of Microsoft
In 1975, Gates and Allen founded Micro-Soft, a combination of "microcomputer" and "software." The company's first product was the BASIC program that ran on the Altair computer.
At first, everything was not smooth sailing, but by 1979, Microsoft had generated nearly $2.5 million. At the age of 23, Gates installed himself as the company's president. With his software development acumen and strong business sense, he led the company and served as its spokesman. Gates personally reviewed every line of code the company shipped, and often rewrote the code himself when he deemed it necessary.
In 1980, IBM was looking for software to run their personal computers (PCs) and approached Microsoft, and that was the beginning of the boom.
After developing software for IBM, between 1979 and 1981 Microsoft's growth exploded, employees increased from 25 to 128, and revenues increased from $2.5 million to $16 million. By 1983, Microsoft was going global with offices in Great Britain and Japan. An estimated 30 percent of the world's computers run on its software.
At the beginning of Microsoft's global reach, his friend Paul Allen suffered from cancer in 1982, and he decided to leave the company and devote himself to treatment.
In 2000, Gates resigned from Microsoft's day-to-day operations, handing over the CEO position to college friend Steve Ballmer, who had been with Microsoft since 1980. Gates positioned himself as chief software engineer so he could focus on what was for him his most passionate side. at work, although he remained chairman of the board.
In February 2014, Gates stepped down from his position as president of Microsoft in order to move to a new position as technology advisor.
Gates Personal life
In 1987, Melinda French, a 23-year-old product manager for Microsoft, caught the attention of Bill Gates, then 32 years old. The highly intelligent and organized Melinda was a perfect match for Gates, and a love story began and on January 1, 1994, Melinda and Gates were married in Hawaii.
In 1996, their first daughter Jennifer was born, their son Rory was born in 1999, and the second daughter Phoebe arrived in 2002. In May of the year before last 2021, the couple announced the end of the marriage.
Bill Gates net worth
In March 1986, Gates took Microsoft public at $21 per share, making him an instant millionaire at the age of 31. Gates owned 45 percent of the company's 24.7 million shares, making his stake at the time $234 million in Microsoft. $520 million.
Over time, the company's stock increased in value and split several times. In 1987, Gates became a billionaire when the stock reached $90.75 per share. Since then, Gates has been at the top of Forbes' annual list of the 400 richest people in America, or at least near the top.
