Bill Gates

Extracted Attributes

• Born

  1955-10-28

• Awards

  Cross of Recognition

• Education

  Harvard College (dropped out)

• Full Name

  William Henry Gates III

• Net Worth

  $107 billion (as of 2022-11)

• Occupation

  Business magnate, Philanthropist, Computer programmer, Entrepreneur, Investor

• Citizenship

  United States

• Place of Birth

  Seattle, Washington, United States

• Key Roles at Microsoft

  Chairman, CEO, President, Chief Software Architect, Largest individual shareholder (until May 2014)

• Other Companies Founded/Chaired

  BEN, Cascade Investment, bgC3, TerraPower, Gates Ventures, Breakthrough Energy

Timeline

• Born in Seattle, Washington. (Source: Summary, Wikidata)

  1955-10-28

• Enrolled at Harvard University. (Source: Wikipedia, Britannica)

  1973

• Dropped out of Harvard and co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  1975

• Microsoft had its initial public offering (IPO). (Source: Wikipedia)

  1986

• Became a billionaire and was included in the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people. (Source: Wikipedia, Summary)

  1987

• Launched the William H. Gates Foundation (later renamed Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation). (Source: Britannica)

  1994

• Became the world's richest person, a title he held for much of the period until 2017. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  1995

• Faced criticism for anti-competitive business tactics, which were upheld by court rulings. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  1990s

• Stepped down as CEO of Microsoft, succeeded by Steve Ballmer, but remained chairman and chief software architect. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  2000-01

• Established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with Melinda Gates. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  2000

• Transitioned to a part-time role at Microsoft to focus on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  2008-06

• Co-founded The Giving Pledge with Warren Buffett. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  2010

• Stepped down as chairman of the board of Microsoft, becoming a technology advisor to CEO Satya Nadella. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  2014-02

• Ceased to be the largest individual shareholder in Microsoft. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  2014-05

• Was surpassed by Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person. (Source: DBPedia)

  2017-10

• Departed board positions at Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway to dedicate efforts to philanthropy. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  2020-03

• His estimated net worth was $107 billion. (Source: Summary, DBPedia)

  2022-11

• Attended a White House Tech Dinner hosted by President Donald Trump alongside other tech leaders. (Source: Related Documents)

  Unknown

Web Search Results

• Bill Gates - Wikipedia

  William Henry Gates III CFR (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Following the company's 1986 initial public offering (IPO), Gates became a billionaire in 1987—then the youngest ever, at age 31. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's wealthiest person for 18 out of 24 years between 1995 and 2017, [...] Gates is founder and chairman of several other companies, including BEN, Cascade Investment, TerraPower, Gates Ventures, and Breakthrough Energy. In 2010, he and Warren Buffett founded the Giving Pledge, whereby they and other billionaires pledge to give at least half their wealth to philanthropy. Named as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century by Time "Time (magazine)") magazine in 1999, he has received numerous other honors and accolades, including a Presidential Medal of [...] Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Gates was privately educated at Lakeside School "Lakeside School (Seattle)"), where he befriended Allen and developed his computing interests. In 1973, he enrolled at Harvard University, where he took classes including Math 55 and graduate level computer science courses, but he dropped out in 1975 to co-found and lead Microsoft. He served as its CEO for the next 25 years and also became president and chairman of the board when the company incorporated in

• Bill Gates | Microsoft Cofounder, Philanthropist, & Author - Britannica

  Entertainment & Pop Culture Literature Sports & Recreation Visual Arts Image Galleries Infographics Podcasts Summaries Top Questions Britannica Kids Subscribe Now # Bill Gates American computer programmer, businessman, and philanthropist Also known as: William Henry Gates III Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica [...] Bill Gates cofounded Microsoft Corporation, the world’s largest personal-computer software company. ### Where did Bill Gates go to college? Bill Gates attended Harvard University. However, he dropped out in his junior year to found Microsoft with his friend Paul Allen. Bill Gates (born October 28, 1955, Seattle, Washington) is an American computer programmer and entrepreneur who cofounded Microsoft Corporation, the world’s largest personal-computer software company. [...] In addition to his work at Microsoft, Gates was also known for his charitable work. With his then wife, Melinda, he launched the William H. Gates Foundation (renamed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 1999) in 1994 to fund global health programs as well as projects in the Pacific Northwest.

• William H. Gates III | Academy of Achievement

  In May 2024, Bill Gates had a net worth of $128 billion, primarily from his shares in Microsoft. Despite being nearly as wealthy as he had ever been, Gates ranked lower on the wealth index than he had since 1992 due to fierce competition at the top, a costly 2021 divorce, and his substantial charitable contributions totaling $59 billion. The Microsoft co-founder was the world’s richest person for 18 of the 23 years from 1995 to 2017. [...] Meanwhile, the personal computer — and Microsoft software — revolutionized the worlds of work and recreation. Microsoft became an enormous international corporation, and by 1995, its Chairman, CEO and largest shareholder, Bill Gates, was the world’s richest man, a title he has retained almost every year since. By 2018, Bill Gates had amassed a personal fortune of $91.1 billion. [...] Bill Gates was a teenage computer whiz when he dropped out of Harvard to start his own company, Microsoft. Through a brilliant combination of technical prowess and business insight, Gates made Microsoft the indispensable supplier of operating systems and office software to computer users around the world. If you use a computer to write a letter, compose an email or visit a website, chances are you’re using Microsoft software.

• Bill Gates: Biography, Microsoft Cofounder, Gates Foundation

  As of February 12, 2025, Gates has an estimated net worth of $107.3 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time calculator. The publication ranks him as the 16th wealthiest person in the world. Meanwhile, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index estimates his net worth considerably higher at $166 billion and ranks him as the 7th richest person. The former tech CEO’s fortune is highly variably given his stock holdings. [...] Gates continued as Microsoft’s chairman for several years until February 2014 when he stepped aside to become technology adviser to incoming CEO Satya Nadella. In March 2020, Gates resigned from the board of directors completely. He remains Microsoft’s technology adviser and revealed in January 2025 that he still does product reviews for the company on occasion. [...] Bill Gates led the development of Microsoft Windows, first released in November 1985. The graphic interface made computers even more accessible to the public.

• Bill Gates donating rest of fortune, closing foundation. Why? - NPR

  Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is accelerating his pledge to donate most of what remains of his fortune to charity. Gates, who was once the world's richest man, announced Thursday that he will give around $200 billion over the next 20 years to his charity, the Gates Foundation. He also announced the foundation would close by 2045. [...] Ari Shapiro , Alejandra Marquez Janse , Patrick Jarenwattananon #### Here's why Bill Gates is accelerating his plan to donate his billions Transcript Download `<iframe src=" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">` Transcript Microsoft co-founder and Chair of the Gates Foundation Bill Gates attends a session during the Philanthropy Asia Summit in Singapore on Monday. Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption [...] Shapiro: You're a notorious optimist. And sometimes when people who listen to the news every day ask me about the state of the world, I say, "Well, there's, you know, the Bill Gates view, which is that more people have access to clean water and education and fewer children are dying and etc., etc., etc.."

• Award

  Cross of Recognition

• Image

  

• Gender

  male

• Educated At

  Harvard College

• Instance Of

  Q5

• Occupation

  entrepreneur

• Citizenship

  United States

• Date Of Birth

  10/28/1955

• Place Of Birth

  Seattle

William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), president and chief software architect, while also being the largest individual shareholder until May 2014. He was a major entrepreneur of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Gates was born and raised in Seattle. In 1975, he and Allen founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It became the world's largest personal computer software company. Gates led the company as chairman and CEO until stepping down as CEO in January 2000, succeeded by Steve Ballmer, but he remained chairman of the board of directors and became chief software architect. During the late 1990s, he was criticized for his business tactics, which have been considered anti-competitive. This opinion has been upheld by numerous court rulings. In June 2008, Gates transitioned to a part-time role at Microsoft and full-time work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the private charitable foundation he and his then-wife Melinda established in 2000. He stepped down as chairman of the board of Microsoft in February 2014 and assumed a new post as technology adviser to support the newly appointed CEO Satya Nadella. In March 2020, Gates left his board positions at Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway to focus on his philanthropic efforts on climate change, global health and development, and education. Since 1987, Gates has been included in the Forbes list of the world's wealthiest people. From 1995 to 2017, he held the Forbes title of the richest person in the world every year except from 2010 to 2013. In October 2017, he was surpassed by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who had an estimated net worth of US$90.6 billion compared to Gates's net worth of US$89.9 billion at the time. As of November 2022, Gates had an estimated net worth of US$107 billion, making him the fifth-richest person in the world. Later in his career and since leaving day-to-day operations at Microsoft in 2008, Gates has pursued many business and philanthropic endeavors. He is the founder and chairman of several companies, including BEN, Cascade Investment, bgC3, and TerraPower. He has given sizable amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, reported to be the world's largest private charity. Through the foundation, he led an early 21st century vaccination campaign that significantly contributed to the eradication of the wild poliovirus in Africa. In 2010, Gates and Warren Buffett founded The Giving Pledge, whereby they and other billionaires pledge to give at least half of their wealth to philanthropy.