Bill Gates is a technologist, business leader, and philanthropist. He grew up in Seattle, Washington, with an amazing and supportive family who encouraged his interest in computers at an early age. He dropped out of college to start Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. He married Melinda French in 1994 and they have three children. Today, Bill and Melinda Gates co-chair the charitable foundation bearing their names and are working together to give their wealth back to society.
Bill grew up in Seattle with his two sisters. His dad, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle attorney and one of the co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. His late mother, Mary Gates, was a schoolteacher, University of Washington regent, and chairwoman of United Way International.
Microsoft
When Bill and Paul Allen started Microsoft, their vision of “a computer on every desktop and in every home” seemed farfetched to most people. Today, thanks to Microsoft and many other companies, that vision is a reality in many parts of the world, and personal technology is an integral part of society.
Bill is passionate about Microsoft’s work and will always be involved with the company, including his present role as a member of the board and technology advisor.
2000
Assumed role of Chief Software Architect, as Steve Ballmer assumed role of Microsoft CEO.
2000
Bill and Melinda officially
established the foundation. They also announced the first round of Gates Millennium Scholars, part of a $1 billion effort to help 20,000 young people afford college over the next two decades.
2002
The foundation completed efforts to help install 47,000 computers in 11,000 libraries in all 50 states. Ninety-five percent of libraries have computers with Internet access, up from 27 percent in 1996.
2010
Bill and Melinda challenged the global health community to declare this the Decade of Vaccines. They pledged $10 billion over the next 10 years to help research, develop, and deliver vaccines for the world’s poorest countries.