Bill Gates

  • Enrolls in Lakeside School

    Enrolls in Lakeside School

    Exclusive private school in Seattle, where he befriended Paul Allen.
  • Enter Harvard

    Enter Harvard

    Entered Harvard as a pre-law major, but soon shifted focus. Takes most rigorous math and grad level computer science courses.
  • Call MITS

    Call MITS

    Offers to develop software for the MITS Altair. MITS accepts and buys his language for $3,000 plus royalties
  • Register

    Register

    Gates and Allen register trademark 'Microsoft'.
  • Year-end sale

    Year-end sale

    Microsoft's year-end sale exceeded $1 millon. Gates gains a reputation for being tough, but focused
  • Incorporation

    Incorporation

    Microsoft incorporates and buys the right to the opening system "DOS" from Seattle Computer Porducts.
  • Allen

    Allen

    Paul Allen leaves Microsoft after developing Hodgkin's disease. Microsoft announces Windows as an extension of its MS-DOS operating system.
  • Billion

    Billion

    Age 31, Gates becomes the youngest billionaire ever and meets his future wife Melinda French at a Microsoft event in New York
  • Corbis

    Corbis

    Founds Corbis, an archive of art and photography from public and private collections
  • Foundation

    Foundation

    Gates weds Melinda, later to have three children. The Gates consolidate their charitable giving under the Willima H. Gates Foundation, later absorbed into the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
  • Richest Man

    Richest Man

    With a $12.9 billion fortune, Gates is the world's richest man
  • Books

    Books

    Gates publishes another best-selling book, 'Business @ the Speed of Light'
  • CEO

    CEO

    Gates steps down as Microsoft CEO. Former Harvard dorm-mate and right-hand man Steve Ballmer takes over. Gates becomes chief software architect.
  • Knighthood

    Knighthood

    Queen Elizabeth II bestows honorary knighthood to Gates for contributions to United Kingdom. 'Times' names in "Person of the Year".
  • Graduate

    Graduate

    Gates graduates from Harvard, given an honorary degree