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Bill Gates
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Bill Gates in June 2015
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William Henry Gates III
October 28, 1955 (1955-10-28) (age 63) Seattle, Washington, US
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| Residence | Medina, Washington, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (dropped out 1975) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Founder and chairman of Microsoft |
| Net worth | US$77.2 billion (February 2016) |
| Spouse(s) | Melinda Gates (m. 1996-present) |
| Children | 2 daughters, 1 son |
| Parent(s) | William H. Gates, Sr. Kheng Imm Lee Gates |
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William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955), commonly known as Bill Gates, is the co-founder and chairman of Microsoft. He is the richest person in world.
Bill Gates was born in Seattle. He is of British and German ancestry. His father was a lawyer. His mother served on the board of directors for First Interstate BancSystem and the United Way. His parents wanted him to be a lawyer. At the age of 13,Bill went to Lakeside High School.
He was a freshman at Harvard University in 1973. He left Harvard to make software. Bill Gates saw an opportunity to transform the personal computer, which used to be a hard-to-use and expensive device. He saw that computers could be made less expensive and more easy to use. Gates started Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen.
In 2006, Gates announced he was going to quit his job at Microsoft. This was so he could do more charity work with his wife, Melinda. Their charity is called the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates' philanthropy projects have included vaccination of children in sub-Saharan Africa, scholarship programs in the United States, and leadership to help organize other billionaires to redistribute their wealth. He likes to give money and support to human rights, education and technological innovation.
Gates stepped down from his CEO position in Microsoft in 1998 and Steve Ballmer did the job instead. On June 16, 2007, Microsoft said that Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, will come in on a day-to-day schedule to continue working with his charity organization full-time for the years to come. On 2014, Satya Nadella became the new CEO of Microsoft and Bill Gates came back as the Chief Technology Adviser.
Microsoft launched its first retail version of Microsoft Windows on November 20, 1985, and in August, the company struck a deal with IBM to develop a separate operating system called OS/2. Although the two companies successfully developed the first version of the new system, mounting creative differences caused the partnership to deteriorate.
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Since leaving day-to-day operations at Microsoft, Gates has continued his philanthropy and works on other projects.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Gates was the world's highest-earning billionaire in 2013, as his net worth increased by US$15.8 billion to US$78.5 billion. As of January 2014, most of Gates' assets are held in Cascade Investment LLC, an entity through which he owns stakes in numerous businesses, including Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, and Corbis Corp. On February 4, 2014, Gates stepped down as chairman of Microsoft to become Technology Advisor alongside Satya Nadella.
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Gates married Melinda French in Hawaii on January 1, 1994; he was 38 and she was 29. They have three children: Jennifer Katharine (born 1996), Rory John (born 1999), and Phoebe Adele (born 2002). The family resides in the Gates' home, an earth-sheltered house in the side of a hill overlooking Lake Washington in Medina near Seattle in the state of Washington, United States. According to 2007 King County public records, the total assessed value of the property (land and house) is $125 million, and the annual property tax is $991,000. The 66,000 sq ft (6,100 m2) estate has a 60-foot (18 m) swimming pool with an underwater music system, as well as a 2,500 sq ft (230 m2) gym and a 1,000 sq ft (93 m2) dining room.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports the use of genetically modified organisms in agricultural development. Specifically, the foundation is supporting the International Rice Research Institute in developing Golden Rice, a genetically modified rice variant used to combat Vitamin A deficiency.
Melinda Gates suggested that people should emulate the philanthropic efforts of the Salwen family, which had sold its home and given away half of its value, as detailed in The Power of Half. Gates and his wife invited Joan Salwen to Seattle to speak about what the family had done, and on December 9, 2010, Gates, investor Warren Buffett, and Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg signed a commitment they called the "Gates-Buffet Giving Pledge." The pledge is a commitment by all three to donate at least half of their wealth over the course of time to charity.
Bill and Melinda Gates have said that they intend to leave their three children $10 million each as their inheritance. With only $30 million kept in the family, they appear to be on a course to give away about 99.96 percent of their wealth.
