Bill gates life wikipedia

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Gates in Business magnate, investor, author, programmer, philanthropist, humanitarian. Justice For All. Archived from the original on November 9, Gates Sr. Library of Congress. March 18, The Today Show. April 10, — via today. April 10, Business Insider. Retrieved September 15, New York: St. Martin's Press imprint: Thomas Dunne Books.

ISBN Retrieved January 5, Gates Hall". Washington Post. Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. July 24, Retrieved March 2, State of Washington Secretary of State. External links [ edit ]. Bill Gates. Although he was considered a charismatic leader within his own company, he was also extremely tough — he fired Microsoft's first company president after only 11 months on the job.

An intense businessman who typically put in hour days and took only two three-day vacations in the first five years after establishing the corporation, Gates was demanding and strong-willed about implementing his vision. Coworkers, clients, and industry analysts also remarked, however, that he did not surround himself with yes-sayers but was more than willing to change his mind if someone convinced him of a better alternative.

Analysts also observed that one of the keys to Gates's success was his ability to focus on the fundamentals of the business while keeping office politics or his own ego from getting in the way. Gates was known from the beginning of his career as the epitome of a hard-driving businessman respected by his allies and feared by his competitors. It was his vision that guided Microsoft's immense success.

In addition, Gates had an uncanny ability to tackle both the managerial and technical sides of Microsoft's operations. He was especially noted for his success as a marketing strategist who priced his products for the mass market rather than computer specialists. In the Journal of Business Strategy listed Gates among a handful of people who had the greatest influence on business strategy over the last century.

Gates also had his fair share of critics. In addition to accusations of predatory and possibly illegal business practices, some analysts remarked that Gates did not really foster in-house product innovation but tended to focus his attention instead on blocking advances by other companies. On the other hand, supporters of Gates's managerial style and business acumen pointed out that Microsoft continued to prosper even in the midst of the information technology slump, growing at 20 percent each quarter and posting a phenomenal 35 percent after-tax profit margin.

Despite all his financial success, however, Gates remained a fiscal conservative. He was renowned for his penny-pinching traveling habits, demanding that his schedule be filled for the entire day when he was on the road promoting his company. He remained a hands-on leader at Microsoft, however, maintaining an active work schedule as the company's chairman and chief software architect.

As noted by Ron Anderson in Network Computer" … no bill gates life wikipedia his presence [at the company] will make itself known well into the decades ahead" October 2, In addition to extending Microsoft's success, Gates also turned his attention to philanthropy, including the establishment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In addition to his duties at Microsoft and his efforts in philanthropy, Gates sat on the board of ICOS, a company that specialized in protein-based and small-molecule therapeutics. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Petechuk, David " Gates, Bill —. Petechuk, David "Gates, Bill —. January 8, Retrieved January 08, from Encyclopedia.

Then, copy and paste the text into your bibliography or works cited list. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia. His innovations revolutionized the computer industry, enabling people without technological training to use PCs in both the workplace and the home.

With his high school friend, Paul Allen, Bill Gates co—founded Microsoft Corporation, which he built into a multi—billion—dollar company. His father, William Henry Gates, Jr. He married Melinda French Gates, a Microsoft manager, in Together they have a daughter, Jennifer, born in April ofand a son, Rory John, born in In his leisure time, Gates enjoys reading, playing golf, and bridge.

Gates' competitive drive and fierce desire to win have made him a powerful force in business but have also consumed much of his personal life. In the six years between andhe took a total of only two weeks vacation. Gates developed an early interest in computer science in the seventh grade at Seattle's Lakeside School. There, Gates became acquainted with Paul Allen, a teenager with a similar interest in technology, who would eventually become one of his business partners.

Gates entered Harvard University in to study pre—law. By Gates had decided to pursue a career in computer software and dropped out of Harvard. Gates' early experiences with computers included debugging or eliminating errors from programs for the Computer Center Corporation's PDP—10, helping computerize electric power grids for the Bonneville Power Administration, and—while still in high school—founding with Allen, a firm named Traf—On—Data.

While working with the Computer Center's PDP—10, Gates was responsible for what was probably the first computer viruswhich is a program that copies itself into other programs and ruins data. Discovering that the machine was hooked up to a national network of computers called Cybernet, Gates invaded the network and installed a program on the main computer that sent itself to the rest of the network's computers; Cybernet crashed.

When Gates was found out, he was severely reprimanded, causing him to stay away from computers for his entire junior year at Lakeside. When he saw the story, Gates knew he wanted to be in the forefront of computer software design. BASIC is a simple, interactive computer language designed in the s and "interpreter" is a program that executes a source program by reading it one line at a time and performing operations immediately.

When Gates dropped out of Harvard inhe ended his academic life and began his career in earnest as a software designer and entrepreneur. He went on to co—found Microsoft with Allen. Gates' big opportunity arrived in when IBM approached him to help with their personal computer project, code named Project Chess. By the early s, Microsoft had sold more than million copies of MS—DOS, making the operating system the all—time leader in software sales.

Marketing savvy played a big part in Microsoft's success. Microsoft tripled its sales in the early s with its successful Windows debut. At first, while Microsoft was enjoying these successes, other companies were making inroads in the development of software for the World Wide Web WWW. But in the fall ofGates realized that 20 million people were surfing the net without Microsoft software.

An aggressive campaign was launched to raise Microsoft's stake in the Web. Staffing was increased, software was bought, and deals were cut—America Online AOL was given an icon in Windows 95 in exchange for using Microsoft's Internet Explorer as its principal Web browser. Windows 97 integrates its Internet Explorer bill gates life wikipedia and MSN into its Windows operating system, creating an active bill gates life wikipedia. In Microsoft gained a significant hold on Web browsers, the NetAction consumer group reported.

This made up 41 percent of the profits of the 10 largest publicly traded software companies. This period saw the roll out of Windows 95 and 98, major updates of the world's preeminent computer operating system, Windows. In the first three days of its release, Windows 98 sold more thancopies, matching the sales of Windows 95 in its debut. Gates envisioned the expansion of his business by combining PCs with the information reservoirs provided by CD—ROM and was soon marketing a number of multimedia products.

Gates has also invested in Teledesic, a company that plans to expand global two—way broadband telecommunications services through a system of low—orbit satellites. Gates' strategy has been to leverage Microsoft's desktop operating system to dominate all software sales, from word processing to spreadsheets. Because most new PCs are equipped with the Windows operating system, Gates can place icons for Microsoft software packages on the desktops when a computer is purchased.

Also, Microsoft's large cash reserves give it an advantage over its competitors. Microsoft can enter a new market or introduce a new package without needing to make a profit from the outset. Microsoft's success, however, has brought scrutiny. In Aprilwhen Microsoft attempted to make the biggest acquisition in the history of the software industry by purchasing Intuit, a maker of personal finance software, the antitrust division of the Department of Justice blocked the deal and Microsoft backed off.

However, competitors continued to complain that Microsoft uses an existing monopoly to retard the development of new technology. It was the bundling of software, such as Web browsers with Windows 95 and 98, that prompted the Justice Department, along with 18 state attorneys general, to file an antitrust lawsuit against the company in Court of Appeals panel ruled that Microsoft was free to bundle its software, but a subsequent finding of fact by Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson in November ruled that Microsoft was a monopoly.

The ruling opened the possibility of numerous private suits being brought against the company by its competitors. The Microsoft antitrust case made headlines through much of the last half of the s. The U. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the lower court's conclusion that Microsoft had violated antitrust laws. But, by a 7—0 vote, the appeals court ruled that a new judge would have to decide what penalty Microsoft should pay because Judge Jackson, who had spoken to the press regarding the case, had given the appearance of having a personal bias against the company.

The on—going negotiations climaxed in On November 2,Microsoft announced that it had struck a deal with the Justice Department. However, nine states refused to acknowledge the deal, which did little to revoke Microsoft's software monopoly and was considered by analysts as a slap on the wrist for Microsoft. California attorney general Bill Lockyer told Time"We want real reform, not a fig leaf.

We're acknowledging those concerns, we're agreeing to make changes, do things in a different way. A lot of this is very new territory, and yet there were concerns, and so new rules had to be created, and Microsoft has agreed to those rules. Would the world have been a better place if AOL had been able to block Windows 95? That's an exercise for the reader.

Seriously, the whole PC industry was based on that advance. Despite the distraction of the antitrust case, Microsoft continued to develop Windows, releasing Windows XP in the fall of Windows CE, Microsoft's operating system for its hand—held computers also began to draw more notice, and Microsoft was able to begin chipping away at the dominant hand—held leaders, Palm and Handspring.

Ballmer to succeed him. Gates stated that this change represented his wish to focus his personal energies on new development as "chief software architect" of a new type of system encompassing large networks, PCs, and consumer electronic devices connected to the Internet. In addition to sparking the PC revolution, Gates created new paradigms for how new products should be created and sold.

Accompanying Gates' competitive drive is a fear of losing. A guiding force in Microsoft's economics is Gates' insistence that rather than incurring debt, Microsoft should have on hand enough cash to operate for a year without any revenues. Microsoft employs around 40, people in 60 countries. A typical Microsoft employee is very intelligent but may only have little if any experience—much like Gates' own background.

Employees are typically expected to put in whatever hours are necessary to solve problems and meet new product deadlines, and they become part of the "Microsoft culture.

Bill gates life wikipedia

As a student of business history, Gates came to believe that it is paramount for corporate executives to be sensitive to change in their industries and that they remain flexible in order to respond to change when necessary and to seize opportunities. Microsoft's influence has spread to banking, retailing, entertainment, and the news.

Gates envisions the merging of content and software and with this move has positioned Microsoft to be at the forefront. Gates also hopes to make Microsoft the number one software provider to China, the world's largest emerging software market. By training technicians at China's universities and centers, developing Chinese—language Windows operating systems, providing Chinese government ministries with PCs that use Windows and DOS, and by developing with Chinese researchers interactive TV and speech and handwriting recognition programs, Gates is laying the groundwork for enormous Microsoft sales.

Gates' other interests encompass medicine and the arts. In he started a company called Corbis, which owns the rights todigitized images. The images are licensed by newspapers and magazines and published by them either in print or electronic form. He has also invested in Teledisc, which is working on a plan to provide worldwide, two—way broadband telecommunications service.

Gates sits on the board of ICOS, a biotechnology company, and has invested in others in this field. He believes that, with the Internet, researchers will be able to communicate faster with each other, thus leading to more cures. Finding the best way to treat or prevent illness is important to Gates. The program plans to pay full educational costs through graduate school for qualified students who maintain a 3.

African—American and Hispanic leaders have hailed the program as an important step in attracting minority students to these fields. Gates told the Economist"I used to have the notion that I would wait until my 50s or 60s to put substantial resources into the foundation. Seeing how urgent the needs are changed my time line. Bray, Hiawatha.

Nine Soldier On. Has Microsoft Already Won? Markoff, John, and Steve Lohr. Rivera, Elaine. The title "richest man in the world" suggests power and influence, along bill gates life wikipedia vast wealth. He also has intelligence. As a teenager, he taught himself how to program personal computers. As a young man, he realized the power personal computers would have to change modern society.

His intelligence and determination helped him turn his company, Microsoft, into the world's largest software maker. Gates, as the world's richest person, has given away billions of dollars to help the poor and fund medical research. That generosity, however, has not softened the hatred many people have for him. His critics say he is arrogant and mean, willing to break the law to strengthen his company.

But even the critics realize Gates has a brilliant mind, and he has used it to make computers and digital information a part of everyday life. I believe in progress. I'd much rather be alive today than at any time in history. The tools of the digital age extend the capabilities of our minds. William H. His father William was a prominent Seattle attorney, while his mother Mary was a teacher who also worked for the community charitable organization United Way and served on the board of directors for several other groups.

His parents' personal contacts helped Gates on several occasions as he built Microsoft. In seventh grade, Gates attended a private school that had access to a computer — a rarity for the time. He wrote his first program when he was thirteen, creating a tic-tac-toe game. During the next few years, Gates and his friend Paul Allen learned all they could about computers and programming.

Inthe young partners launched their own company, Traf-O-Data. Using a simple computer, they analyzed traffic information from the Seattle area and sold the results to several bill gates life wikipedia agencies. Gates took a break from his computer career to enter Harvard in Septemberbut a little more than a year later he and Allen were working on their BASIC program for the Altaira small computer sold as a kit.

Gates wrote the actual code, or lines of instructions that make any software run. He worked on the code almost nonstop for four weeks, in between his classes. The popularity of the Altair led other companies, including Apple, Commodore, and Tandy, to introduce home computers. Gates also adapted the language to fit the needs of such companies as General Electric, Inc.

One of Bill Gates's earliest computer jobs was to create a program that would handle class scheduling for students. Gates wrote the program so that he ended up as the only boy in several classes filled with attractive girls. In recent years, Internet Explorer has seen its market share slip. One area where Microsoft has never been successful is in the area of search engines.

In this respect, Microsoft has been dwarfed by Google. Nevertheless, the success of Microsoft in cornering various aspects of the software market has led to several anti-trust cases. In US v Microsoft, Microsoft came close to being broken up into three smaller firms. However, on appeal, Microsoft was able to survive as a single firm.

Although Microsoft was the dominant computer firm of the s, and s, they are now seen as an ageing and declining company — compared to the more dynamic Google and Apple. Bill Gates is married to Melinda French married in They have three children JenniferRory and Phoebe Bill Gates says much of the inspiration came from the example of David Rockefeller.

Like Rockefeller, Gates has sought to focus on global issues ignored by the government; he also expressed an interest in improving the standards of public school education in the US. He has appeared with Oprah Winfrey to promote this objective. Speaking at a TED conference inhe said about malaria. For example, there is more money put into baldness drugs, than are put into malaria.

Now, baldness, it is a terrible thing [audience laughter] and rich men are afflicted, so that is why that priority is set.