Everybody knows the name of Bill Gates, as his wealth and success have made him one of the most popular rich men and thriving businessmen on global scale. Since 1975 when it was opened by Bill himself and one of his friends, Paul Allen, Microsoft developed from a tiny computer workshop to the biggest global IT software design corporation. Born on 28th October, 1955, in Seattle, State of Washington, U.S. Bill, or William Henry Gates III as his full name is, became the youngest billionaire in the world when he was 31years old.
Bill's intelligence could be noticed when he was still at school, as he was very bright and his favourite subjects were Science and Maths. He started his new experience with computers at Lakeside school where he was sent by his parents. Bill and his friend started to spend all their time on learning new technology. They wrote programmes and tried to learn more and more about IT and computers and did not care for schoolwork.
A 1973 graduate, Bill started the stage of education at Harvard, the most renowned institution of higher education in America. A year later Bill and his friend Paul completed an operating programme that was designed for the new computer, called Altair. It was a microcomputer, one of the first ever made. In 1975 Bill and Paul set up a small firm that they called Microsoft. Then Bill left the university and took up business. Very soon the firm grew to the size of a company and became very successful. That was the decisive movement and since then the company has grown and expanded a lot. Now it designs and makes most of the best computer software on global scale. Bill's ambition and hard work made him one of the most successful entrepreneurs ever. He has never thought much of his personal life and even Melinda French whom he married in 1994 was a Microsoft employee. The way he became such a successful businessman was described in a bestseller "The Road Ahead" written in 1995.
He is not sure what to think about the proportion of leisure and work, as he spends most of his time working and his job is the thing he likes best. As Bill says, he does not regret that he had no time to do many other things apart from work. In his free time he likes reading and playing games, of which only golf is extravagant. He has no material concerns, of course, but he and his family are not extravagant and never spend too much. At the same time, Bill Gates is fond is very altruistic and his generosity is widely known. He spends considerable amounts of money on donations and has started several charity programmes. He has announced his plan of donating most of his money to charity after his retirement. By now, his plans have already begun assuming more and more actual form.
