Bill Gates

Bill Gates is an American business magnate, software developer, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation in 1975, which became the world's largest personal-computer software company. Gates served as its CEO until 2000 and remained actively involved with the company until 2020. Over the decades, Gates became one of the richest individuals globally, primarily through his holdings in Microsoft. He is renowned for his visionary leadership in revolutionizing personal computing, software development, and the technology industry as a whole.

Looking at his early life, no one would have predicted what the name Bill Gates will mean to the world one day

• Gates attended the Lakeside School, a private preparatory school in Seattle, where he first gained access to computers. He wrote his first computer program at the age of 13 on a General Electric computer.
• Gates and his Lakeside School friends, including Paul Allen, became proficient programmers. Together, they developed a program to monitor traffic patterns in Seattle. They were paid for their efforts and used the money to rent computer time.
• Gates enrolled at Harvard University in 1973, where he met Steve Ballmer, who would later become the CEO of Microsoft. Gates was an exceptional student but dropped out in 1975 to pursue his business, Microsoft, with Paul Allen.
• In 1975, Gates and Allen formed Microsoft, which went on to become the largest personal computer software company in the world.
• Gates married Melinda French in 1994, and together they have three children. They announced their divorce in 2021 after 27 years of marriage.

The Gates had quite the tight-knit family life, until 2021.

• Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington, USA, to William H. Gates Sr. and Mary Maxwell Gates. 
• Bill Gates has two sisters, Kristianne Gates Blake, she is a former director of the United Way International and served as a consultant to nonprofit organizations.
• And Libby Gates Armintrout: She has been involved with various philanthropic initiatives.
• Bill Gates married Melinda French in 1994. Melinda was a Microsoft product manager who played a significant role in developing many of the company's multimedia products. 
• The first child, Jennifer Katharine Gates: Born in 1996, Jennifer studied human biology at Stanford University and is involved in equestrian sports.
• Rory John Gates: Born in 1999, Rory is a private individual and has maintained a low profile.
• Phoebe Adele Gates: Born in 2002, Phoebe attends Lakeside School in Seattle.
• In May 2021, Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage. They stated that they would continue their joint work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, focusing on global health and development initiatives.