Leaving Harvard to start his own company called Microsoft, Bill Gates the programmer soon became Bill Gates the CEO. With his fervent business practices, along with his ingenious marketing schemes, Bill Gates’ software soon became the standard operating system for most computers worldwide.
Being born into a wealthy family didn’t mean that Bill Gates had his world handed to him on a silver platter. Although his parents did pay for his schooling, they did not endow him with any trust funds or invest in any of his business ventures. In elementary and high school, he excelled in maths and sciences. It was in high school that he was commissioned to write programming with other students for a national company called COBOL. Following his preparatory schooling, he scored well enough on his tests to attend Harvard with a focus on computer science.
In 1975, Gates and fellow classmate Allen wrote programming for a new microcomputer platform. It was this design and the sale of their BASIC software rights that allowed Gates and Allen to start Microsoft Corporation. As Gates’ software programs gained popularity, so did his business practices of requiring payment for the software they developed. Before, software was an ‘open-source’ system that could be downloaded for free by any user. However, with Gates at the lead, other corporations began following suit – everyone would have to pay a license to use their new platform. And, with the advent of the PC-DOS program and the soon released MS-DOS that would run on IBM computers, his future software dealings and distribution were sealed.
One of the best business moves Gates made was to make sure all computers came withWindows pre-installed. This meant that users would have instant access to the software and it would be an inclusive purchase with the hardware. During his later years, Microsoft came under governmental scrutiny for these business practices. Gates was elusive in his testimony and questioned the true definition and meanings of words, namely ‘distribution’ and ‘compete’.
When the court ruled that Microsoft had been unfair and had created a monopoly, Microsoft had to work even harder to maintain its place on the competitive totem pole of software distribution.
In other business dealings, it has been calculated that Bill Gates has donated over one-third of his wealth, currently surpassing 100 billion U.S. dollars, to charities through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In 2008, Gates plans on retiring from Microsoft while still holding his CEO status. He has plans to continue his charitable donations for AIDS, the United Negro College Fund and other scholarships, and international programs. After being named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people for several years, he has also garnished other awards, including honorary doctorates and humanitarian awards.
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