Bill Gates

Biography

Gates left Harvard in 1975 to co-found Microsoft with Paul Allen. Windows made the company the defining software business of the PC era. Since 2000 his focus has shifted to the foundation he co-founded, one of the largest philanthropic organisations in the world.

American entrepreneur who put a computer on every desk through Microsoft, then redirected his fortune to global health philanthropy.

Known for

Co-founding Microsoft and the Gates Foundation.

Notable works & defining projects

• Microsoft Windows
• MS-DOS
• How to Avoid a Climate Disaster (book)

Notable achievements

• Co-founded Microsoft (1975); Windows became the world's dominant desktop operating system
• Co-founded the Giving Pledge (2010) with Warren Buffett, urging billionaires to donate most of their wealth
• His foundation has committed tens of billions to global health and development

Timeline

1. 1975Left Harvard and co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen
2. 1985Launched Windows 1.0
3. 2000Stepped down as Microsoft CEO to focus on philanthropy

Did you know?

• He wrote his first software at 13 — a tic-tac-toe program
• Microsoft's first product was a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800 microcomputer