Bill Gates
Bill Gates is one of the most influential figures in the history of personal computing. Born in 1955 in Seattle, Washington, Gates co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975. The company initially gained attention by creating a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800, but its real breakthrough came when IBM selected Microsoft to supply the operating system for its IBM PC.
That operating system—MS-DOS—catapulted Microsoft into dominance during the 1980s and 1990s. Under Gates’ leadership, Microsoft released successive versions of DOS and eventually Windows, setting the stage for widespread personal computing adoption. Gates became known for his aggressive business tactics as well as his technical insight.
In the 2000s, Gates stepped down from his executive roles and transitioned to full-time philanthropy, focusing on global health, education, and poverty alleviation through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
💡 Did You Know?
- Gates wrote Microsoft’s first product: Altair BASIC, in collaboration with Paul Allen.
- His 1995 book The Road Ahead predicted many aspects of today’s connected world.
- Despite being one of the richest people in the world, Gates has pledged to give away most of his fortune.