Bill Gates
Chairman
and Chief Software Architect, Microsoft Corporation
William (Bill) H.
Gates is chairman and chief software architect
of Microsoft Corporation, the worldwide leader
in software, services and solutions that help
people and businesses realize their full potential.
Microsoft had revenues of US$36.84 billion for
the fiscal year ending June 2004, and employs
more than 55,000 people in 85 countries and regions.
Born on Oct. 28,
1955, Gates grew up in Seattle with his two sisters.
Their father, William H. Gates II, is a Seattle
attorney. Their late mother, Mary Gates, was a
schoolteacher, University of Washington regent,
and chairwoman of United Way International.
Gates attended public
elementary school and the private Lakeside School.
There, he discovered his interest in software
and began programming computers at age 13.
In 1973, Gates entered
Harvard University as a freshman, where he lived
down the hall from Steve Ballmer, now Microsoft's
chief executive officer. While at Harvard, Gates
developed a version of the programming language
BASIC for the first microcomputer - the MITS Altair.
In his junior
year, Gates left Harvard to devote his energies
to Microsoft, a company he had begun in
1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen.
Guided by a belief that the computer would
be a valuable tool on every office desktop
and in every home, they began developing
software for personal computers. Gates'
foresight and his vision for personal computing
have been central to the success of Microsoft
and the software industry.
Under Gates'
leadership, Microsoft's mission has been
to continually advance and improve software
technology, and to make it easier, more
cost-effective and more enjoyable for people
to use computers. The company is committed
to a long-term view, reflected in its investment
of approximately $6.2 billion on research
and development in the 2005 fiscal year.
In 1999, Gates
wrote Business @ the Speed of Thought, a
book that shows how computer technology
can solve business problems in fundamentally
new ways. The book was published in 25 languages
and is available in more than 60 countries.
Business @ the Speed of Thought has received
wide critical acclaim, and was listed on
the best-seller lists of the New York Times,
USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com.
Gates' previous book, The Road Ahead, published
in 1995, held the No. 1 spot on the New
York Times' bestseller list for seven weeks.
Gates has donated
the proceeds of both books to non-profit organizations
that support the use of technology in education
and skills development.
In addition to his
love of computers and software, Gates founded
Corbis, which is developing one of the world's
largest resources of visual information - a comprehensive
digital archive of art and photography from public
and private collections around the globe. He is
also a member of the board of directors of Berkshire
Hathaway Inc., which invests in companies engaged
in diverse business activities.
Philanthropy is
also important to Gates. He and his wife, Melinda,
have endowed a foundation with more than $27 billion
(as of March 2004) to support philanthropic initiatives
in the areas of global health and learning, with
the hope that in the 21st century, advances in
these critical areas will be available for all
people. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
has committed more than $3.2 billion to organizations
working in global health; more than $2 billion
to improve learning opportunities, including the
Gates Library Initiative to bring computers, Internet
Access and training to public libraries in low-income
communities in the United States and Canada; more
than $477 million to community projects in the
Pacific Northwest; and more than $488 million
to special projects and annual giving campaigns.
Gates was married
on Jan. 1, 1994, to Melinda French Gates. They
have three children. Gates is an avid reader,
and enjoys playing golf and bridge.
