Bill Gates

Bill Gates (born October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington) is a renowned entrepreneur, software developer, and philanthropist. Gates co-founded Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen, revolutionizing the computer software industry and making personal computing accessible to the masses. His aggressive business tactics and strategic focus on software development led to Microsoft dominating the PC market, with products like MS-DOS, Windows operating systems, and Microsoft Office Suite becoming integral to personal and business computing.

Gates served as Microsoft’s CEO until 2000, after which he remained involved as Chief Software Architect and Chairman before stepping down to focus on philanthropy. Despite leaving his daily role at Microsoft in 2008, Gates remained active on the company's board until he left completely in 2020 to dedicate more time to his charitable endeavors.

In 2000, Gates and his then-wife, Melinda Gates, established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has become the largest private philanthropic organization in the world. The foundation has spent billions on global initiatives, particularly focusing on public health, education, gender equality, and climate change. It has contributed significantly to eradicating diseases like polio, increasing vaccine accessibility, and funding HIV/AIDS and malaria research.