In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 28 October 1955
- Birthplace
- Seattle, Washington, United States
- Country
- United States
- Nationality
- American
- Known for
- Cofounding Microsoft with Paul Allen and helping establish software as a major personal-computing business
- Microsoft cofounder
- Paul Allen
- CEO succession
- Steve Ballmer succeeded Gates on 13 January 2000
- Day-to-day transition
- 27 June 2008
- Board departure
- 13 March 2020; technology advice continued under that announcement
Why this life matters
Gates helped build a business around widely used software platforms. His career connects the growth of personal computing, debates over market power and the influence of large private foundations.
Timeline
Key moments
Born in Seattle
Gates was born on 28 October and later attended Lakeside School.
Cofounds Microsoft
Gates and Paul Allen built their early software business around BASIC for the Altair 8800.
Software for the IBM PC
Microsoft supplied operating-system software and programming languages for IBM's new personal computer.
CEO succession and foundation
Steve Ballmer became CEO on 13 January; Bill and Melinda French Gates established their joint foundation that year.
Distinct Microsoft transitions
Gates left day-to-day work in 2008, the chairmanship in 2014 and the board in 2020, when Microsoft said he would continue advising.
Announces accelerated giving plan
On 8 May, the Gates Foundation announced an accelerated spending plan and a 2045 closing date.
Programming before Microsoft
Bill Gates was born in Seattle, Washington, on 28 October 1955. At Lakeside School he developed an early interest in programming and worked with other students on commercial projects. Access to computing equipment and a circle of technically interested friends mattered alongside his individual aptitude. He entered Harvard in 1973, where he continued programming and met Steve Ballmer, a future Microsoft colleague.
Harvard's institutional account describes Gates leaving during his junior year to concentrate on the business he established with Paul Allen. He did not complete an undergraduate degree before becoming an entrepreneur. His student years nevertheless supplied programming experience, collaborators and access to equipment that helped shape the early business.
A software company with Paul Allen
Gates and Allen founded Microsoft in 1975 after recognizing an opportunity around the Altair 8800 microcomputer. Their initial product was a version of BASIC, a programming language that let users give the machine instructions. Microsoft's archival chronology records a licensing agreement with Altair maker MITS in July and an early written use of the name Micro-soft later that month.
In his retrospective, Gates describes Allen building a simulation of the Altair's processor on Harvard's computer while he wrote the BASIC interpreter. Allen demonstrated the program at MITS in Albuquerque. Their complementary work turned a prospective deal into a functioning software product. Gates's importance was therefore both technical and commercial, but Microsoft was a joint founding effort rather than a one-person invention of personal computing.
Platforms, business power and antitrust
Microsoft supplied operating-system software and programming languages for the IBM PC introduced in 1981. Windows followed in 1985, and the company expanded into applications such as Word and the Office suite. These were products of engineering teams and business relationships, not programs Gates personally wrote in their entirety. His leadership helped connect product development with a business supplying software across a growing computer industry.
That influence also brought scrutiny. In June 2001, the United States Court of Appeals upheld the central finding that Microsoft had unlawfully maintained its operating-system monopoly, while returning other issues and the remedy for further proceedings. The Justice Department's contemporary statement distinguishes that result from a blanket victory on every claim. This was a civil antitrust case against Microsoft, not a personal criminal conviction of Gates.
Leaving different leadership roles
Steve Ballmer succeeded Gates as Microsoft's CEO on 13 January 2000. Gates retained other responsibilities, so this was not a complete departure from the company. He moved out of day-to-day work on 27 June 2008 and remained chairman until 4 February 2014, when Satya Nadella became CEO. These changes separated executive management, board leadership and technical advice.
On 13 March 2020, Microsoft announced that Gates had stepped down from its board to devote more time to philanthropic priorities. The same release explicitly said he would continue as Technology Advisor to Nadella and other leaders. The board departure therefore changed his governance responsibilities without ending the technical relationship described in that announcement. Board membership and advice were distinct ways of participating in the company.
Philanthropy as an institutional project
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. Its work included global health, poverty reduction and educational opportunity. Grantmaking connected their resources with researchers, public institutions, nonprofit organizations and other funders, including Warren Buffett. Funding a program is distinct from personally delivering its results, and global changes cannot be credited to a single donor.
On 8 May 2025, the renamed Gates Foundation announced an accelerated giving plan and a 2045 closing date. It described intended spending of about $200 billion over two decades, with the eventual amount dependent on markets and inflation. The plan favored distributing resources within a defined period rather than maintaining the institution indefinitely. Gates's later career thus moved from building a software business to helping direct an organization with different goals, partners and public responsibilities.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Bill Gates
- Did Bill Gates found Microsoft alone?
- No. Gates and Paul Allen cofounded Microsoft in 1975. Their early business developed BASIC for the Altair 8800, with Allen and Gates performing complementary technical and commercial work.
- When did Gates stop being Microsoft's CEO?
- Steve Ballmer succeeded him on 13 January 2000. Gates continued in other roles, left day-to-day work in 2008, ceased being chairman in 2014 and left the board in 2020.
- Did the 2020 board departure end every Microsoft role?
- The March 2020 announcement said Gates would continue as Technology Advisor to Satya Nadella and other leaders. It supports that dated arrangement, not an assumption about an unchanged advisory role in every later year.
- What did the foundation announce in 2025?
- On 8 May 2025, the Gates Foundation announced a plan for accelerated spending and closure by 2045. Its projected future spending was a commitment, not a claim that the money had already been distributed or its goals achieved.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Gordon Moore
Read about the semiconductor industry that helped make the personal-computing market possible.
- Warren Buffett
Follow another business leader whose later philanthropy included substantial support for the Gates Foundation.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Computer History MuseumOctober 28: Bill Gates Born
Used for the exact birth date and broad computing context. The page's 1999 CEO-succession date is superseded here by Microsoft's 13 January 2000 chronology.
- 2. Harvard GazetteBill Gates to speak at Commencement, 22 March 2007
- 3. Microsoft LearnThe History of Microsoft โ 1975
- 4. Gates NotesMy time and career at Microsoft
Firsthand recollection of the early collaboration, not an independent verdict on the priority of personal-computer invention.
- 5. MicrosoftAbout Microsoft: historical timeline
- 6. United States Department of JusticeStatements Regarding the Microsoft Decision, 28 June 2001
- 7. MicrosoftMicrosoft announces change to its board of directors, 13 March 2020
Confirms completed board departure and earlier transitions while explicitly retaining advice in the announcement; no unchecked current advisory title is asserted.
- 8. Gates FoundationGates Foundation Will Double Spending Over Next 20 Years, 8 May 2025
Foundation's own dated commitments are attributed. Promotional superlatives and aggregate lives-saved claims are not adopted as independently established personal achievements.
