William Gates III was born on the 28th of October 1955, into a wealthy family in Seattle, Washington. His father was William Henry Gates II, a wealthy attorney, and his mother was Mary Maxwell, who was a teacher. In elementary and high school, he was really good at math and science. When he attended high school, he programmed with other students for a company called COBOL. It was during the spring term of 1968, at Lakeside Prep School that Bill Gates first used a computer. On his test, he received a high enough grade to go to Harvard and study computer science.
In 1975, Bill Gates and a classmate called Paul Allen wrote programming for a new microcomputer (cheaper and with less capacity and capability than a minicomputer). It was this and when they sold their BASIC software rights that let Bill Gates and Paul Allen start Microsoft. While Bill Gates became famous for his programs and softwares, he also got rich because of the money people paid for his products. In the past, people could download softwares for free, but Bill Gates changed that, and other companies started copying him.
Bill Gates, after marrying Melinda French, who he made manager of Microsoft, founded the Bill and Melinda Foundation, which is a charitable organization that Bill and his wife founded in the year 2000, after seeing how millions of children in poor countries died of a disease that they hadn’t even heard of. They wanted to help them and tried to give the poor people a good opportunity in life. They concluded that they could help them, given the advanced technology that was available. They wanted people to grow up healthier, get a better education, and be able to forget their impoverished lives and do better in the future.
Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world. He was actually the very richest for more than 10 years! It is calculated that he earns $250 (USD) every second! At the end of 2006, Bill Gates had a net worth of $56 billion! “That’s a 56 with, 9 zeros behind it — $56,000,000,000, give or take a few hundred million.” (www.howrichisbillgates.com)
How did Bill Gates get so rich, you might ask. Well, he was the first to offer softwares to people if they paid for them. Also, his programs and softwares are worth what customers paid for them, so it was a fair deal he made. He was also able to slightly alter some already-made programs, making them better and more efficient for use. Also, his friend Paul Allan helped him get to the top. You didn’t think it was a one-man show, did you? It would be very hard getting that high with no one to help you.
Don’t think that Bill Gates only made money, not giving any away to worthy causes. He is very generous, and he has given more money to charity than anyone else in the whole USA. It is also said that he donated a third of his wealth to charity, and he says that he will donate his whole fortune, which is about $58 billion, to charity instead of distributing it among his children. Some believe that he is all words and no action, but who knows? He has plans to continue his charitable donations for AIDS, the United Negro College Fund and other scholarships, and international programs.” (www.biographyshelf.com)
Bill Gates also does some things to take care of the environment. The following message is what is posted on www.microsoft.com/environment: “At Microsoft, we believe in the potential of software and technology to help people and businesses around the world foster environmental sustainability. Discover how Microsoft and its partners use innovative technologies and responsible business practices to address environmental challenges worldwide.” Thus, you can see that he uses modern science and technology to help and save the environment, making the world a better place to live in.
“Time magazine named Gates one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th century, as well as one of the 100 most influential people of 2004, 2005, and 2006. Time magazine also collectively named Bill Gates, his wife Melinda and alternative rock band U2’s lead singer Bono as the 2005 Persons of the Year for their humanitarian efforts. In 2006, he was voted eighth in the list of “Heroes of our time”. Gates was listed in the Sunday Times power list in 1999, named CEO of the year by Chief Executive Officers magazine in 1994, ranked number one in the “Top 50 Cyber Elite” by Time in 1998, ranked number two in the Upside Elite 100 in 1999 and was included in The Guardian as one of the “Top 100 influential people in media” in 2001.” (www.answers.com)
In conclusion, you have seen that Bill Gates is a very wealthy man who earned his money fairly, and also spends it in great ways, like saving the environment and donating to charity. Also, what he creates in the Microsoft Corporation has an effect on the world, helping people do their everyday jobs more efficiently, like typing a document, preparing a presentation, storing information in databases, staying in touch with friends and family, and much more.
