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Bill Gates

American businessman, investor, and philanthropist (born 1955) · United States · Founders

Bill Gates is read about 8,674 times a day, in 180 languages.

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He turned a dorm-room dropout into the world's first centibillionaire, held the title of richest person on earth for 18 of 24 years, and now deploys that fortune against malaria, polio, and the diseases most of the developed world forgot.

ExecutivesDeveloperWeb DevelopmentLiteratureEntrepreneurshipUnited StatesAmericas20th Century

A life in dates

2025Bintang Jasa UtamaAward2017Commander of the Legion of HonourAward2015Padma BhushanAward2013Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service AwardAward2010J. William Fulbright PrizeAwardUnited Nations Population AwardAward2009Cross of RecognitionAward2008Honorary Doctor at Karolinska InstitutetAward2007Commander of the Order of the Star of RomaniaAwardHonorary Doctor of the Tsinghua UniversityAward2005Knight Commander of the Order of the British EmpireAward2002Honorary Doctor of Royal Institute of TechnologyAward1994Financial Times Person of the YearAward1992National Medal of Technology and InnovationAward1991“If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of today's ideas were invented, and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a complete standstill today....”In their words16 May 1991"Challenges and Strategy" (16 May 1991). Note that this quotation has been paired with a misattributed quotation.

1987“I believe OS/2 is destined to be the most important operating system, and possibly program, of all time.”In their wordsNovember 1987OS/2 Programmers Guide, November 1987

1985“I think it's more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.”In their wordsBill Gates replied to Steve Jobs about "Windows 1.0 is borrowed from Macintosh 128K" (1985)

1981“Instead of buying airplanes and playing around like some of our competitors, we've rolled almost everything back into the company.”In their wordsComment to reporters during the IBM PC launch (1981), interpreted as a jab at Gary Kildall

“I have to say that in 1981, making those decisions, I felt like I was providing enough freedom for 10 years.”In their words1989 speech on the history of the microcomputer industry.

1980“If something is expensive to develop, and somebody's not going to get paid, it won't get developed. So you decide: Do you want software to be written, or not?”In their wordsInterview with Dennis Bathory-Kitsz in 80 Microcomputing (1980) Clips from the interview can be found on "No Money (Lullaby for Bill)" by

1955Born28 October 1955

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

Gates (right) with Paul Allen seated at Teletype Model 33 ASR terminals in Lakeside School, 1970Gates (right) with Paul Allen seated at Teletype Model 33 ASR terminals in Lakeside School, 1970A MITS Altair 8800 Computer with 8-inch (200 mm) floppy disk system, whose first programming language was Microsoft's founding product, Altair BASICA MITS Altair 8800 Computer with 8-inch (200 mm) floppy disk system, whose first programming language was Microsoft's founding product, Altair BASICBill Gates next to a Tandy 2000 running a development version of Windows 1.0, 1984Bill Gates next to a Tandy 2000 running a development version of Windows 1.0, 1984Gates delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, January 2008.Gates delivers a speech at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, January 2008.Gates and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron at COP28 in Dubai on December 1, 2023Gates and UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron at COP28 in Dubai on December 1, 2023With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021

In their own words 10

,
Bill Gates
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. If people had understood how patents would be granted when most of today's ideas were invented, and had taken out patents, the industry would be at a complete standstill today....

    May 16, 1991, "Challenges and Strategy" (16 May 1991). Note that this quotation has been paired with a misattributed quotation., Own words

  2. There's only one trick in software, and that is using a piece of software that's already been written.

    1989, Interview with Electronics magazine (1989), Own words

  3. I believe OS/2 is destined to be the most important operating system, and possibly program, of all time.

    Nov 1987, OS/2 Programmers Guide, November 1987, Own words

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Awards

Bintang Jasa Utama2025
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun2020
Commander of the Legion of Honour2017
Presidential Medal of Freedom, Barack Obama2016
Padma Bhushan2015
Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award2013
NAS Public Welfare Medal2013
Bambi Award2013
J. William Fulbright Prize2010
Silver Buffalo Award2010
United Nations Population Award2010
Bower Award for Business Leadership2010
Cross of Recognition2009
Honorary Doctor at Karolinska Institutet2008
Order of the Aztec Eagle2007
Commander of the Order of the Star of Romania2007
Honorary Doctor of the Tsinghua University2007
Honorary Doctor of Harvard University2007
Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry2006
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire2005
Honorary Doctor of Royal Institute of Technology2002
Honorary Doctor of Stockholm University2002
American Library Association Honorary Membership1998
Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society1994
Financial Times Person of the Year1994
National Medal of Technology and Innovation1992

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About this person

Born in Seattle in 1955, Gates met Paul Allen at Lakeside School and followed him into computing. He enrolled at Harvard in 1973, took Math 55 and graduate computer science classes, then dropped out two years later to co-found Microsoft. He led the company as CEO for 25 years, became its youngest billionaire at 31 in 1987, and watched his net worth breach $100 billion in 1999. After stepping back - first to chief software architect in 2000, then off the board entirely in 2020 - he pivoted to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the largest private charity on earth, co-chaired with his then-wife until their divorce. The foundation targets tuberculosis, malaria, polio, education, and poverty; Gates also co-founded the Giving Pledge with Warren Buffett in 2010, committing half his wealth to philanthropy. He published the first volume of his memoirs, Source Code: My Beginnings, in 2025.

Country
United States
Category
Founders
Type
Founder
Status
living
Dates
Born 1955 · age 70

Founders from the United States 6

Jimmy Wales91.6Steve Jobs90.5Sam Altman85.1Henry Ford83.9Mark Zuckerberg83.5Jawed Karim79.7

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