Bill Gates

Gates was born in Seattle in 1955 and encountered computer programming as a teenager at Lakeside School. After entering Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private research university in Massachusetts, established by the Massachusetts Bay Colony legislature in 1636 and named in 1639 for early benefactor John Harvard. Its principal campuses are in Cambridge and the Allston and Longwood neighborhoods of Boston. It includes Harvard College, graduate and professional schools, and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. Two governing boards share oversight. Alan M. Garber was president as of October 2026, and the endowment stood at $56.9 billion at the end of fiscal 2025.Open the full entry in 1973, he continued exploring software and met future Microsoft executive Steve BallmerSteve BallmerSteve Ballmer is an American businessman and philanthropist who joined Microsoft in 1980 and succeeded Bill Gates as its chief executive officer from 2000 to 2014. After stepping down he bought the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, co-founded the philanthropy Ballmer Group with his wife Connie Ballmer, and founded the government-data website USAFacts.Open the full entry.⁠[1]

Gates and Paul Allen developed BASIC software for early microcomputers and cofounded Microsoft in 1975. Gates left Harvard to focus on running the software business, which found a market in the growing personal computer industry.⁠[1]

In 1995, Gates published The Road Ahead, discussing changes brought by information technology. Business @ the Speed of Thought followed in 1999, focusing on digital technology in business operations. These books provided a public outlet for his technological views beyond corporate management.⁠[1]

In January 2000, Gates stepped down as Microsoft’s chief executive while remaining chairman and chief software architect. Steve Ballmer became chief executive, and Gates’s responsibilities concentrated more on technological direction.⁠[2]

Also in 2000, earlier philanthropic initiatives were consolidated into the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which increasingly directed resources toward global health, development and education. Substantial subsequent donations from Warren BuffettWarren BuffettWarren Buffett is an American investor who took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 and served as its chairman and chief executive from 1970; he handed the chief executive role to Greg Abel on January 1, 2026 and became chairman emeritus, while remaining a director, on September 18, 2026.Open the full entry helped it become the main institution for Gates’s philanthropy.⁠[3]

Microsoft’s competitive practices under Gates’s leadership attracted antitrust scrutiny. In November 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice and Microsoft reached a proposed settlement covering software interface disclosure, computer manufacturers’ freedom to choose competing software, and prohibitions on retaliation. The department noted that an appellate court had upheld some findings concerning exclusionary conduct and maintenance of an operating-system monopoly. The case concerned corporate conduct, not a criminal conviction of Gates personally.⁠[4]

On June 27, 2008, Gates left Microsoft’s day-to-day operations to devote more time to the foundation. In 2010, he, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett launched the Giving Pledge, inviting wealthy individuals and families to commit most of their wealth to philanthropy.⁠[5][6]

Gates stepped down as Microsoft chairman in February 2014. On March 13, 2020, he also left the board to concentrate on global health, development, education and climate. Microsoft said at the time that he would continue supporting its management as a technology adviser.⁠[6]

Gates’s memoir Source Code: My Beginnings was published on February 4, 2025, focusing on childhood, family, education and the early period surrounding his entrepreneurial career. Its emphasis is personal development rather than a comprehensive history of Microsoft.⁠[7]

On May 8, 2025, the Gates Foundation announced plans to accelerate charitable spending over twenty years and close in 2045. It expected to deploy approximately $200 billion from existing endowment assets and future donations by Gates, with the eventual amount dependent on markets and other conditions. The figure describes future plans, not donations already completed.⁠[8]

Earlier contacts between Gates, the foundation and Jeffrey Epstein raised questions about judgment, reputational risk and governance. On July 21, 2026, the foundation released findings from an external review it commissioned from WilmerHale. The principal contacts during 2011–2014 involved a proposed charitable funding pool and the International Peace Institute; the funding pool did not proceed.⁠[9]

According to the foundation’s published findings, the review found no evidence that the foundation paid Epstein or that its personnel participated in or knew about his ongoing trafficking and criminal activities. The board approved stronger intermediary due diligence, risk escalation, conflict-of-interest controls and management of dual roles. These were commissioned review findings and institutional reforms, not a judicial ruling.⁠[9]

In an August 2026 essay, Gates argued that AI could improve healthcare, agriculture, education and research while also causing job displacement, cybersecurity and biological risks, and effects on children’s social development. He advocated cross-sector and international governance and discussed taxing robots and AI and reserving some work for humans. These were his judgments about technological development and public policy.⁠[10]

In an interview with The Verge’s Nilay Patel, Gates estimated that AI’s social transition could last roughly twenty years, while allowing for a shorter or longer period. He proposed reserving some occupations for humans and shorter workweeks, and argued that sufficiently capable model platforms should preserve safeguards when users customize models. These were his assessments and governance proposals.⁠[11]

Gates’s personal investments are managed through arrangements including Cascade and encompass public and private assets. Cascade Asset Management also manages investments for the Gates Foundation Trust, but personal wealth and trust assets have different ownership and purposes. Gates chairs the philanthropic foundation, whose day-to-day management is led by its chief executive.⁠[12][5]

Microsoft: Official website: https://www.microsoft.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[6]

Gates Foundation: Official website: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ (opens in a new window)⁠[5]