Few people shaped the modern world like Bill Gates. He co-founded Microsoft, helped put a personal computer on nearly every desk, and spent years as the richest person on the planet. Now, in a twist few billionaires attempt, he is racing to give almost all of it away. This is the complete history of Bill Gates, from a Seattle schoolboy obsessed with code to one of the most ambitious philanthropists in history, and the man behind Microsoft (MSFT).
The Early Years
William Henry Gates III was born in Seattle in 1955 into a well-off family. At the private Lakeside School he discovered computers and met Paul Allen, a fellow student who shared his fascination. The two spent countless hours programming on the school's shared terminal. Gates was brilliant and intensely competitive, and after enrolling at Harvard he found himself more interested in the coming microcomputer revolution than in his classes.
Founding Microsoft
In 1975, inspired by the new Altair microcomputer, Gates and Allen wrote a version of the BASIC programming language for it, and Gates dropped out of Harvard to start a software company they named Microsoft. Their bet was radical for the time: that software, not hardware, would be where the real value lay as computers spread. They were right.
The IBM Deal That Changed Everything
Microsoft's defining break came in 1980. IBM, building its first personal computer, needed an operating system, and Gates made one of the shrewdest deals in business history. Microsoft provided MS-DOS but kept the right to license it to other manufacturers. As countless "IBM-compatible" PCs flooded the market, each one needed Microsoft's software, and the company collected a fee on nearly all of them. That licensing model turned Microsoft into a powerhouse.
Windows and World Domination
In 1985 Microsoft launched Windows, which brought a simple graphical interface to the masses and became the dominant operating system on Earth. Paired with Microsoft Office, it made the company extraordinarily profitable and made Gates, by 1995, the richest person in the world, a title he would hold for most of the next two decades. For a generation, "a computer" effectively meant "a Windows computer."
The Antitrust Battle
That dominance drew scrutiny. In the late 1990s the US government sued Microsoft for antitrust violations, accusing it of abusing its monopoly to crush competitors, especially in web browsers. The long, bruising case ended in a settlement and marked a turning point. Gates stepped down as CEO in 2000, handing the role to his longtime deputy Steve Ballmer, and gradually shifted his focus away from the company.
From Software to Saving Lives
In 2000 Gates and his then-wife Melinda founded what became the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, pouring billions into global health, fighting diseases like malaria and polio, and improving education. He left day-to-day work at Microsoft in 2008 and stepped off its board in 2020 to devote himself fully to philanthropy. In 2021 he and Melinda divorced, though they continued their foundation work.
Giving It All Away
In 2025 Gates made a stunning announcement: he would speed up his giving, aiming to donate roughly 99% of his remaining fortune over 20 years and to close the Gates Foundation by the end of 2045, with more than $200 billion expected to flow out over that period. His net worth, around $105 billion to $112 billion in 2026, has actually slipped in the rankings precisely because he is giving so much away, even falling behind his old deputy Steve Ballmer. As Gates put it, "he died rich" is not how he wants to be remembered. His story now sits alongside other tech titans like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, though his later chapter is defined by giving rather than building.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Bill Gates make his money?
He co-founded Microsoft in 1975 and built it into the dominant software company through MS-DOS, Windows, and Office, which made him the world's richest person for most of two decades.
Is Bill Gates still involved with Microsoft?
No. He stepped down as CEO in 2000, left day-to-day work in 2008, and resigned from the board in 2020 to focus on philanthropy through the Gates Foundation.
How much is Bill Gates giving away?
He has pledged to give away roughly 99% of his fortune, with the Gates Foundation expected to spend more than $200 billion over 20 years before closing by the end of 2045.
The Bottom Line
Bill Gates's history runs in two acts: first the ruthless competitor who built a software empire and got rich beyond imagination, then the philanthropist determined not to die that way. He changed how the world computes, survived a landmark antitrust fight, and is now spending his final decades, and nearly his entire fortune, trying to solve global problems. For investors, Microsoft remains his enduring creation, but Gates himself has made clear his legacy will be measured in lives improved, not dollars kept.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Always do your own research before investing.
