The unfulfilled dream of the richest man on the planet (on the 60th anniversary of Bill Gates)

    Today, October 28, the 60th anniversary is celebrated by the founder of Microsoft Corporation , the richest man in the world - Bill Gates. Business Insider decided to recall the main milestones of the biography of the famous entrepreneur and altruist.

    William Henry Gates the Third (or simply Bill Gates) was born in 1955 in Seattle. His father was a well-known lawyer, his mother served on the board of directors of a large bank. And Bill himself predicted his career as a lawyer.

    From the age of 12, the boy became so interested in computers that he abandoned other subjects - social studies, grammar and other humanitarian disciplines. Nevertheless, in mathematics, the future founder of Microsoft had brilliant results, Gates even dreamed of becoming a professor in this field. But his fate was completely different. If this dream came true, now there would be no Microsoft corporation, Windows operating system, everyone’s beloved “mouse” and other things without which we can’t imagine our life.

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    Source: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

    At 13, Bill wrote his first program, and at 15 he created a program to optimize traffic, which he sold for $ 20 thousand.

    Bill Gates founded his first company while still a college student. At the age of 17, together with their friend Paul Allen, they launched Traf-O-Data, whose products helped to read traffic and report.

    In 1973, Gates at the insistence of his parents entered Harvard. However, Gates dropped out of school and spent time playing games and programming. Two years after admission, he was expelled.

    By that time, Gates and Allen had already got a job at the then-famous company MITS, which created the Altair 8800 computer.
    Then the first ideas for creating your own company appeared. Gates proposed the name Micro-soft (from the words microprocessors and software).

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    Source: NPR

    In 1980, IBM proposed that Microsoft create an operating system for their new personal computer. Gates acquires the QDOS system, changes its name to the more familiar rumor MS-DOS, and sells it to IBM for $ 50,000. The success of IBM computers with the new operating system has inspired other companies to work with Microsoft.

    The next step was the release of Microsoft Office and Microsoft Excel. This allowed significantly expanding the expansion of Microsoft in the high-tech market and competing with Apple, which supplies computers on its own operating system.

    In 1985, Microsoft released the first versions of Windows, which were essentially a graphical extension for MS-DOS. Then the Mouse manipulator (a modern “mouse”) appears. He set a new trend in the development of input devices. Thirty years later, even despite the appearance of touchpads, the “mouse” remains the most popular and convenient tool for working with a PC.

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    In 1986, the company entered an IPO. Further, the company is engaged in improving products and releasing new versions of Windows.

    In 1995, Windows 95 appeared on the market, and Bill Gates became the richest businessman in the world with a fortune of $ 12.9 billion. Since then, Gates has remained one of the richest people in the world.
    In the same year, the first version of Internet Explorer 1 was released.

    Microsoft has been actively promoting all of its products, leaving no chance for competitors. She did it so assertively that she became interested in the US antitrust authorities. In 1998, lawsuits began to be filed against Microsoft, Gates himself was summoned and asked to divide the company into parts, each of which will deal with different products, but Bill Gates, the head of the board of directors, remained adamant. Accusations against Microsoft periodically appear until now.

    In 2000, he resigned as CEO.

    Together with his wife Melinda Gates, he is engaged in charity work under the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The fund invests in improving health and combating hunger in poor countries. Funds also go to HIV and AIDS treatment programs and to fight malaria. In addition, the foundation provides all kinds of support to students and the US education system as a whole. In total, by 2010, Gates had spent about $ 28 billion on charity.

    Today, Bill Gates withdrew from all matters related to Microsoft. Nevertheless, he has at his disposal about 8% of the company’s shares, and on the account of Gates himself - about $ 78 billion.

    In 2007, he still received a diploma from Harvard University, but as a friendly gesture - "as a gift."

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    Source: Time

    The former head of Microsoft actively communicates with the press and arranges conferences on the Reddit portal. Responding to user questions, Gates shares his views on the pressing problems of our time. During a recent conference with Reddit users, Bill Gates emphasized that he fears the artificial intelligence of the future and regrets that he does not speak foreign languages.

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