Bill Gates, born on October 28, 1955, in the rainy but inventive city of Seattle, seemed destined for an ordinary life—until he met a computer. While other kids were playing baseball, young Bill was figuring out how to talk to machines, writing his first program at the age of 13. His parents, a lawyer and a civic leader, probably thought this was a phase, like stamp collecting or learning the trombone. Spoiler: it wasn’t. By the time he reached Harvard, he was already scheming to make computers a big deal, though mostly as an excuse to skip class.
In 1975, Bill teamed up with his childhood pal Paul Allen to create Microsoft, a company that turned “personal computers” from a nerdy hobby into a world-changing invention. Thanks to his brainchild, Windows, computers became as common as toasters. Rich beyond reason, Bill didn’t stop there. He launched the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, using his billions to tackle giant problems like poverty and disease, all while urging kids everywhere to stay curious, keep learning and believe that a big idea can change the world—even if it starts in a rainy little town.
In 1975, Bill teamed up with his childhood pal Paul Allen to create Microsoft, a company that turned “personal computers” from a nerdy hobby into a world-changing invention. Thanks to his brainchild, Windows, computers became as common as toasters. Rich beyond reason, Bill didn’t stop there. He launched the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, using his billions to tackle giant problems like poverty and disease, all while urging kids everywhere to stay curious, keep learning and believe that a big idea can change the world—even if it starts in a rainy little town.
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