Thompson1
BILL GATES: America’s Richest Harvard Drop-Out
William H. Gates was born on October 28, 1955. The only son of William H. Gates II, Bill
Gates the Third lived the life of any other normal Seattle boy. His mother, Mary Gates, was a
strong advocate for education. She was a schoolteacher, served on the board of regents at the
University of Washington, as well as serving as chairwoman of the United Way International.
Young Bill attended a public elementary school and shortly thereafter found his passion for
computer programming at the age of thirteen. Unbeknownst to his lawyer father and
schoolteacher mother, their son was destined to become one most significant forces behind the
growth of person computing and the software industry as a whole. 1
In 1973 Gates left home and began his freshmen year at Harvard University. It was here
he made the acquaintance of Steve Ballmer, a fellow student who lived just down the hall from
Bill. During his studies at Harvard, he continued his computer programming. According to the Bill
Gates web site, he developed “a version of the programming language BASIC for the first
microcomputer-the MITS Altair.”
After approximately two years of study at Harvard, Gates dropped out to pursue his vision
of making computer technology a medium to be used by the average person on a daily basis.
With the help of his boyhood friend, Paul Allen, Microsoft was born. Microsoft, destined for huge
1
2002 Microsoft Corporation. http:// www.microsoft.com/billgates/bio.asp
project1.doc
Thompson2
growth would later need a chief executive officer, Steve Ballmer, from the dorms would later fill
this position. In the following years, they developed MS-DOS, which was the first operating
system for the IBM personal computer. Microsoft has been largely responsible for the boom in
computer technology in the past several decades. Operating systems such as Windows, Internet
Explorer, and the MSNBC cable were all developments of the technology monster called
Microsoft.2 Other widely used programs that have been born of Bill Gates Microsoft vision are
Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power-Point, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook,
Microsoft Publisher, and a host of other programs. Theses programs have changed the way
millions use technology. From professionals who organize company information and
presentations, to people being able to quickly consolidate their finances, and from students typing
graded papers, to a mother being able to contact her son from thousands of miles away by simply
the click of a mouse, Bill Gates with his dream of Microsoft has changed life in both the twentieth
and the twenty-first centuries. Below is a chart of the growth of Microsoft.3
1994
First Microsoft site placed on the internet
Servers started delivering content on Windows NT 3.1
Implementing Graphical user interface (GUI)- allows interaction with software via
visual images
1995
Windows ’95 operating system- a set of programs containing instructions that
coordinate all the activities among computer hard ware devices.
Packaged software- copyrighted retail software that meets the needs of a wide
variety of users, not just a single user or company. Microsoft Word etc.
1996
Windows ‘96
1997
Windows ‘97
1998-
continued update of Windows
2
Vermaat, Shelly C. Discovering Computers 2002, p1.9.
3
1999 Microsoft Corporation. History of Microsoft. http://
www.miscrosoft.com/misc/features/features_flshbk.htm
project1.doc
Thompson3
2000
Today Bill Gates is Forbes Magazine’s “Richest Person in the World” for the seventh
consecutive year as of October 2001.4 Based on the Bill Gates Net Worth web site, Gates is
worth $34.93 billion based on the Microsoft stock price currently in place. As of February 2002,
Gates owned 644,649, 300 shares of Microsoft stock and by multiplying this number by the
$54.18 value of one stock one finds he owns $34,927,099,074.00 of Microsoft stock.
Bill Gates, the man who set out to improve our lives with technology, now seeks to
improve the lives of those less fortunate by means of grants, donations, and charities. The Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation makes contributions in the following areas:
 Global Health
 Education
 Library Funding
 Grants
 Scholarship and Award Programs
For example, the Foundation donates millions of dollars each year to various research
organizations in order to aid in the crusade of finding cures for diseases such as HIV,
Tuberculosis, and other diseases and complication due to inadequate nutrition and living
conditions.
5
Bill Gates, the child, the drop-out, the dreamer, the billionaire, the philanthropist, however
one may choose to label him, there is no denying that his advances have made technology more
accessible for everyday people and everyday living. And whether one is a CEO of a mutli-million
dollar company or a student surfing the internet for information, we have all been effected by
Microsoft and its creator, William H. Gates.
4
Bill Gates Net Worth Page. http:// www.quuxuum.org/~evan/bgnw.html
5
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2002. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/globalhealth/default.htm
project1.doc
Thompson4
Bibliography
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 2002. http://www.gatesfoundation.org/globalhealth/defaulty.htm
Bill Gates Net Worth Page. http://www.quuxuum.org/~evan/bgnw.html
1999 Microsoft Corporation. http://www.microsoft.com/misc.features/features_flshbk.htm
2002 Microsoft Corporation. http://www.microsoft.com/billgates/bio.asp
Vermaat, Shelly Cashman. Discovering Computers 2002- Concepts for a Digital World.
Thompson Learning, 2001, United States of America. Chapter 1, p 1.9.
project1.doc