Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates pioneered in the world of personal computers and has a reputation as one of the richest men on the planet. He and his wife founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. Since then, Gates has become a world-renowned philanthropist who supports medical care, fights poverty and expands educational opportunities with new technologies. But there is more behind this computer magnate.

His youth, first programs, manipulated class schedules and first successes" Bill Gates.

Bill Gates began typing on computers as soon as he found them in the sixth grade, in a thriving suburb of Seattle, where he lived with his parents, his father was a successful lawyer and his mother was a school teacher. He spent day and night in front of the first monstrous machines, often skipping classes. At the age of 13 he saw the potential of these great machines. When one of his teachers began to reprimand him for his absences from classes, Bill not without arrogance answered: "There will come a time when these absences to classes will make me a millionaire."

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The first computer program (written by him) that received profits was the school schedule, designed in such a way that the young Gates was always in the same classes with the most beautiful girls of the school. For this work, Bill received $ 4,200. For the next project, he and his school friend, Paul Allen (1953/2018), founded"Traf-O-Data".

Traf-O-Data 8008 computer with a tape reader
Fuente

Its objective was to read the raw data of traffic counters and generate with them useful reports for traffic engineers. In the first week they won 20 thousand dollars. But the customers' confidence suddenly fell, when they discovered that the "businessmen" were still sitting at desks in the school.

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"Don't compare yourself with anyone in this world... if you do so, you are insulting yourself” Bill Gates.

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Whims.

Bill is not known for wasting money, in fact he flew in economy class until 1997, but with as much money as no luxury. the largest expenses that have been registered, has been for example his house in Lake Washington that extends over an area of 4.5 thousand square meters. It has a swimming pool with trampoline, games and sports rooms, a home cinema, an underground garage and a large dining room for one hundred people. One of the most beautiful rooms is a library of 14 thousand volumes, in addition its fondness for sports cars is well known. He has his own private plane, baptized as Big Splurge. Another of its major expenses was the acquisition of Codex Leicester, a compilation of writings, texts and drawings by Leonardo da Vinci paying 30.8 million dollars.

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Avid reader

Bill is known for being a book eater, in several interviews he has admitted reading an average of 50 books a year, in fact he usually publishes in his blog recommendations from the books he has read and liked.

"Reading is still the main way that I both learn new things and test my understanding” Bill Gates.

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And who will be his heir?

Bill Gates has three children, Jennifer Katharine (1996), Rory John (1999) and Phoebe Adele (2002). Each will inherit 10 million dollars as an inheritance, despite the fact that his father's fortune is estimated at more than 90,000 million. In the opinion of Bill Gates:

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"It will mean they have to find their own way," Bill Gates.

The fastest car in the desert.

His taste for fast cars is well known. In the early years of Microsoft, he destroyed the Porsche borrowed from a friend, when he could buy his own Porch he ran with it through the desert like crazy. After going on a weekend trip to Seattle, he received three speeding tickets and two from the same policeman.

He was arrested three times, between 1976 and 1977 (Paul Allen rescues him from prison once), the charges were for speeding, driving without a license and passing a red light.

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Philanthropic Bill.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, currently accumulates (2018) about 30 billion dollars. Of the funds, most goes to health care needs and education. The most notable donations include one trillion dollars for the United College Fund Afro-American and 750 million to fund global efforts to vaccinate the population of the poorest countries. The multi-million dollar donations from the Gates have benefited at least 15 colleges and universities in North America, as well as a large number of schools, libraries, museums and cultural centers. Thanks to these activities Bill Gates was awarded the title of knight of the British Empire.

“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten. Do not let yourself be lulled into inaction" Bill Gates.

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It is impossible not to recognize his influence, Bill Gates was and continues to be a key character for the current technological world. His passionate history leaves us the valuable lesson of following our instinct and pursuing our dreams.

Thank you for reading.

Sources and references:

• Es.wikipedia.org. (2018). Bill Gates. [online] Available at: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates [Accessed 21 Nov. 2018].

• BBC News Mundo. (2018). Estos son los cinco libros que Bill Gates recomienda leer, ¿conoces alguno?. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-44261562 [Accessed 21 Nov. 2018].

• Stock, A. (2018). 10 cosas que seguramente no sabías de Bill Gates. [online] TICbeat. Available at: http://www.ticbeat.com/cyborgcultura/10-cosas-que-no-sabias-de-bill-gates/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2018].

• Images taken from Wikimedia Commons (2018). https://commons.wikimedia.org

• Images taken from Pixabay.com (2018). Stunning Free Images: https://pixabay.com/ 1

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