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Gates logs off from Microsoft to focus on philanthropy
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-28 08:54 SEATTLE: Sensing the start of a personal computer revolution, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard University in 1975 to start Microsoft Corp and pursue his vision of a computer on every desk and in every home. Three decades later, Gates was set to step down on Friday, from what is now the world's largest software company to work full-time at the charitable organization - the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - built by his vast fortune. No longer the world's richest man - he has been topped by investor Warren Buffett and Mexico's telecom tycoon Carlos Slim - Gates said great wealth brings with it great responsibility.
The 52-year-old, whose boyish looks seem at odds with his graying hair, will leave behind a life's work developing software to devote his energy to finding new vaccines or to micro-finance projects in the developing world. As Microsoft's biggest shareholder, Gates will remain chairman and work on special technology projects. His 8.7 percent stake in the firm is worth about $23 billion. Gates first programmed a computer at 13, creating a class scheduling system for his Seattle high school. As he gained more experience, he realized the potential software held to change how humans work, play and communicate. He realized at an early stage of the PC revolution that software would be more important than hardware. Working with friend Paul Allen, Gates founded Microsoft. During his two years at Harvard, Gates devoted much of his time to programming marathons before dropping out to work on software for the Altair, a clunky desktop computer that cost $400 in kit form. Also at Harvard, Gates became friends with a Detroit native who shared his love of math. Gates eventually talked that classmate - CEO Steve Ballmer - into leaving business school to join Microsoft. Gates dropped out of Harvard and relocated with Allen to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where they established Microsoft. Their break came in 1980, when Gates and his carelessly dressed young colleagues signed an agreement to build the operating system that became known as MS-DOS for IBM's new personal computer. In a blunder by IBM, Microsoft was allowed to license the operating system to others, spawning an industry of "IBM-compatible" machines dependent on Microsoft software. Microsoft went public in 1986. By the next year, the stock made Gates a billionaire. Agencies |
