William Henry Gates III, better known professionally as Bill Gates, is an American business magnate, investor, software architect, philanthropist, and co-founder of Microsoft.
Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the tech world, Gates revolutionized personal computing, turning Microsoft into a global powerhouse. Beyond his business empire, Gates is also known for his humanitarian work through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the largest private charitable foundations in the world. With a net worth of $117 billion, Gates is currently the thirteenth-wealthiest person in the world. He spent much of his life as the wealthiest businessman on the planet and is considered one of the most influential people of the last century. So, who is Bill Gates? Here’s everything you need to know about the billionaire.
Contents
Quick Bio
| Birth Name | William Henry Gates III |
| Nickname | Trey |
| Date of Birth | October 28, 1955 |
| Place of Birth | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
| Age | 69 years old |
| Sun Sign | Scorpio |
| Ethnicity | English, German, Scots-Irish, Scottish |
| Religion | Agnostic |
| Height | 5 feet 9 inches / 175 cm |
| Weight | 74 kg / 163 lbs |
| Body Build | Average |
| Eye Color | Blue |
| Hair Color | Salt and pepper |
| Sexuality | Straight |
| Profession | American Business Mogul, Investor, Author, Philanthropist |
| Nationality | American |
| Residence | Medina, Washington, U.S. |
Family Background
Gates hails from a well-educated and affluent family. His father, William H. Gates Sr., was a prominent attorney, and his mother, Mary Maxwell Gates, was a schoolteacher and later board member of First Interstate BancSystem and United Way. He has two siblings- Kristi and Libby Gates. His maternal grandfather, JW Maxwell, served as a national bank president.
Education
Bill Gates, at age 13, enrolled at the Lakeside School, a prestigious private school in Seattle, where he first developed an interest in computers and programming. He wrote his first program, tic-tac-toe, on the GE system. He graduated from the school in 1973 as a National Merit Scholar and scored 1590 out of 1600 on the SAT.
He later enrolled at Harvard University in 1973 and chose a pre-law major, but took mathematics and graduate-level computer science courses. However, he dropped out in 1975 to pursue his vision of building a software company — a decision that led to the creation of Microsoft and changed the tech world forever.
Bill Gates’ Personal Life
Bill Gates was married to Melinda Gates. After having spent seven years in a romantic relationship, the couple tied the knot on January 1, 1994, on a golf course on the Hawaiian island of Lanai. They have three children together, a son named Rory John Gates and daughters, Jennifer Katharine Gates and Phoebe Adele Gates.
On May 3, 2021, Gates and Melinda announced in separate tweets that they are ending their marriage of 27 years. But they will continue to work together at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Since the divorce, Gates has been rumored to be casually dating, but he has remained mostly private about his personal life. In February 2023, Gates made his relationship with Paula Hurd (née Kalupa) official. She is the widow of former Oracle Corporation and Hewlett-Packard chief executive Mark Hurd.
Career Overview
Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen on April 4, 1975, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a vision to place a computer on every desk and in every home. Microsoft’s first breakthrough was that they developed a version of the BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. It was their first major contract with Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) and marked the beginning of what would become the world’s largest software company.
In 1980, Microsoft signed a landmark deal with IBM to provide an operating system for their personal computers. They made a deal with Tim Paterson of Seattle Computer Products (SCP), acquired and licensed 86-DOS, renamed it MS-DOS, and licensed it to IBM — a game-changer in personal computing. This deal catapulted Microsoft into a dominant position in the software industry.
On November 20, 1985, Microsoft released the first retail version of Microsoft Windows. It introduced a graphical user interface (GUI) that made computing more accessible. Over the next decade, Windows evolved into one of the most widely used operating systems in the world. By the mid-90s, Microsoft Windows had become the standard for PCs globally. Windows 95 was released to retail on August 24, 1995, and was a major commercial success and becoming one of the most successful software launches ever. As a result, Microsoft’s value surged exponentially, which in turn put Bill Gates at the top of Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest people with a net worth of over $12 billion.
In 2000, Bill Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft and took on the role of Chief Software Architect, naming Steve Ballmer as his successor. Gates formally stepped away from full-time work at Microsoft to focus on philanthropy. He has invested billions in several companies and startups across various sectors.
Bill Gates serves as –
- Technology Advisor of Microsoft
- Co-Chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- CEO of Cascade Investment
- Chairman of Branded Entertainment Network
- Chairman of TerraPower
Trivia
- In 2002, Bill and Melinda Gates received the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged.
- Gates received the Bower Award for Business Leadership from The Franklin Institute in 2010 in recognition of his achievements at Microsoft and his philanthropic work.
- Bill and Melinda Gates jointly received India’s third-highest civilian honor, Padma Bhushan, in 2015 for their foundation’s philanthropic activities in India.
Philanthropic Works
Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, together, created the charitable Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is identified as the world’s wealthiest charitable foundation. Its value is estimated to be $34.6 billion, which aims to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty worldwide.
The Gates were recognized as the second-most generous philanthropists in America, having given over $28 billion to charity, and the couple plans to eventually donate 95 percent of their wealth to charity.
In 1999, Gates donated $20 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the construction of a computer laboratory named the “William H. Gates Building” that was designed by architect Frank Gehry.
In 2009, Gates and Warren Buffett founded The Giving Pledge, whereby they and other billionaires pledge to give at least half of their wealth to philanthropy.
In 2010, Gates, Warren Buffett, and Mark Zuckerberg signed the “Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge,” committing to donate at least half of their wealth over the course of time to charity.
Bill Gates’ Net Worth
It’s no wonder that Bill Gates has been acclaimed as one of the wealthiest people on the planet. With a whopping net worth of $117 billion, Gates is currently the thirteenth-richest person in the world, while Elon Musk tops the list of the World’s wealthiest individuals.. Like other billionaires, he is an avid collector of paintings, who has spent millions of dollars to decorate his house with the world’s most expensive and rarest pieces of art.
Car Collection
Bill Gates is a huge fan of Porsche cars and has a 1999 Porsche 911 convertible, a 1988 Porsche 959 Coupe, and a Porsche 930 Turbo. One of the richest techies in the world, Bill Gates, owns a couple of private jets, Bombardier BD-700 and Global Express Boeing Business Jet.
House
The world’s billionaire, Bill Gates, lives in an ultra-modern house, named Xanadu 2.0. This unbelievable house is spread over 66,000 square feet, featuring seven bedrooms, 24 bathrooms, including 10 full baths, six kitchens, and an equal number of fireplaces. As a techie, the house is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, and everything inside the house is automated.
Favorite Things
- Favorite Books – ‘The Gene: An Intimate History’ by Siddhartha Mukherjee, ‘A Full Life’ by Jimmy Carter, ‘Seveneves’ by Neal Stephenson, ‘Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization’ by Vaclav Smil
- Favorite Food – Thai and Indian cuisine
- Pets – Dogs – Oreo and Nilaa
- Hobbies – Playing Tennis, Golf
- Interest / Passion – Philanthropy, Energy, Education, Health, Global Development
Facts
Gates, in eighth grade at the Lakeside School, wrote his first computer program on a General Electric computer in BASIC. It was a tic-tac-toe game.
He caught the attention of his teachers with his coding skills. He was told to write a program to schedule students in classes, but he modified the code slightly so that he was placed in classes with a “disproportionate number of interesting girls.”
Gates scored 1590 out of 1600 on his SATs at the school and enrolled at Harvard in 1973, where he met Steve Ballmer.
He dropped out of Harvard University in 1975 to pursue his own company, Microsoft, alongside Paul Allen.
He was arrested for driving without a license and running a red light.
Gates has said that his children will inherit only $10 million each, despite having immense wealth. “Leaving kids massive amounts of money is not a favor to them,” he says.
With just a fraction of his wealth left for his family, about 99.9% of his wealth will go to charity.
He says that he reads 50 books a year. Gates says that “reading is still the main way that I both learn new things and test my understanding.”
Gates doesn’t know any foreign languages. That, he says, is his biggest regret in life thus far.
Bill Gates earns $250 every second, which implies $20 million daily and $7.8 billion annually.
If Bill Gates were a country, he would be the 37th richest nation in the world.
FAQs
Who is Bill Gates?
Gates is a tech entrepreneur, co-founder of Microsoft, and philanthropist known for revolutionizing the software industry.
Why did Bill Gates leave Microsoft?
Gates stepped away from daily operations at Microsoft in 2008 to focus on philanthropic work through his foundation.
How many children does Bill Gates have?
He has three children: Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe Gates.
What is Bill Gates’ net worth in 2025?
His net worth is estimated to be around $117 billion.