Bill Gates helped put a computer on almost every desk in the world. He and his school friend Paul Allen started Microsoft in 1975, and its software, especially the Windows operating system, became the standard for personal computers. His fierce competitiveness made Microsoft one of the most valuable companies on Earth, and it also led to a major antitrust case in the United States. In later life he shifted his focus to philanthropy, funding work on vaccines, disease eradication and global health through his foundation. His career spans two very different kinds of influence, technology and charity.
Key Milestones
1975: Co-founds Microsoft with Paul Allen
1980: Signs the deal to supply DOS to IBM
1985: Launches Windows
1995: Becomes the world's richest person
2000: Launches the Gates Foundation
2008: Steps back from daily work at Microsoft
William Henry Gates III (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.
