Who is Bill Gates?
Bill Gates is an American business leader and philanthropist who co-founded Microsoft, the company that brought software to almost every personal computer. Today he chairs the Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest private charitable organisations, and invests in climate and energy innovation.
Early life and education
Gates was born in Seattle in 1955. At Lakeside School he discovered computers and met his future business partner, Paul Allen. He enrolled at Harvard University in 1973 but left in 1975 to start a software company, a decision that would define personal computing.
Career highlights
- Microsoft (1975): co-founded with Paul Allen to write software for early microcomputers.
- MS-DOS and Windows: Microsoft’s operating systems became the standard on most PCs, followed by Microsoft Office.
- IPO (1986): Microsoft went public, and Gates became a billionaire in 1987 at age 31.
- Leadership roles: CEO until 2000, then chief software architect until 2008 and chairman until 2014. He left the board in 2020 and remains a technology adviser.
Major achievements
Gates helped turn software into a major industry. Microsoft’s products made computers useful for homes, schools and businesses worldwide. Forbes ranked him the world’s richest person for most years between 1995 and 2017.
Expertise
He is known for deep technical knowledge, long-term strategy and a habit of reading widely. Today his expertise extends to global health, vaccines, climate technology and artificial intelligence.
Leadership and impact
Through the Gates Foundation, he has funded work on polio, malaria, tuberculosis, vaccines, agriculture and education. In 2010 he and Warren Buffett launched the Giving Pledge, encouraging the very wealthy to give away most of their fortunes. In 2025 he announced that the foundation would spend down its resources and close by 2045.
Notable recognition
Gates has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2016, with Melinda French Gates), an honorary knighthood (KBE) in 2005 and India’s Padma Bhushan in 2015. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.
Current work
He leads the Gates Foundation, founded Breakthrough Energy to back clean energy start-ups and chairs TerraPower, which is developing advanced nuclear reactors. In 2025 he published Source Code: My Beginnings, the first of a planned series of memoirs.
Vision and philosophy
Gates believes innovation can solve big human problems, from disease to climate change, when it is paired with data, patience and funding.
Online presence
He shares book reviews, essays and research on his blog, Gates Notes, and is active on YouTube, LinkedIn and other platforms, reaching a large global audience.
Challenges and criticism
Microsoft’s dominance led to one of the biggest antitrust cases in US history. In 1998 the US government sued the company over its bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows, and the case ended in a settlement in 2001. Gates has also faced public criticism, and his foundation’s large influence on global health policy is debated by some experts. He has said these experiences taught him to listen more and work closely with governments and partners.
Books and ideas
Gates has written several books, including The Road Ahead (1995), How to Avoid a Climate Disaster (2021), How to Prevent the Next Pandemic (2022) and his memoir Source Code (2025). He also shares yearly reading lists that often become bestsellers.
Timeline: key moments
- 1955Born in Seattle
- 1975Co-founds Microsoft with Paul Allen
- 1981MS-DOS ships with the IBM PC
- 1985Windows 1.0 released
- 1986Microsoft goes public
- 2000Steps down as CEO; foundation formed
- 2008Leaves day-to-day work at Microsoft
- 2010Launches the Giving Pledge
- 2014Steps down as chairman
- 2020Leaves Microsoft’s board
- 2025Publishes Source Code; foundation sets 2045 closing date
Lessons for your career
Start early, go deep on the skills you enjoy and think long term. Gates also shows that a successful career can grow into a second chapter focused on solving bigger problems for society. Explore our skill roadmaps to plan your next step.
Bill Gates built the software that powered the PC revolution, then turned his focus to using innovation and philanthropy to improve lives around the world.
