Who Is Bill Gates? Biography, Net Worth & Career

Bill Gatesis the American technologist and philanthropist who co-founded Microsoft in 1975, built it into the company that put a computer on most of the world's desks, and then spent the second half of his life giving the resulting fortune away. In 2026 he is best known not as a software executive but as the chair of the Gates Foundation, the largest private charitable foundation in the world — and as the billionaire who has publicly committed to dying with almost none of his money left.

Bill Gates: Quick Facts

Who Is Bill Gates?

William Henry Gates III is one of the defining figures of the personal-computer era. With childhood friend , he founded Microsoft in 1975 on the bet that software — not hardware — would become the valuable part of computing. That bet was correct on a historic scale, and for most of the period from 1995 to 2017 he was either the richest person in the world or close to it. Understanding Gates means understanding both halves of his arc: the ferociously competitive software founder of the 1980s and 1990s, and the data-driven philanthropist focused on global health, poverty, and climate that he became in the 2000s — a man who has repeatedly said he does not want to be remembered as having died rich.

Early Life and Education

Gates was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington, into a comfortable and accomplished family. His father, William H. Gates Sr., was a prominent attorney; his mother, Mary Maxwell Gates, served on corporate and charitable boards, including the United Way, where she was reportedly an early connection to IBM leadership. He was the middle child, with an older and a younger sister.

At the private Lakeside School in Seattle, Gates encountered a computer terminal the school had acquired through a parents' fundraiser, and he was immediately absorbed. He and a small group of fellow students — including Paul Allen — spent enormous amounts of time programming, eventually trading bug-hunting work for free computer time. By his teens he had co-written a class-scheduling program and a traffic-data system, convinced that computing would become central to everyday life.

In 1973 Gates enrolled at Harvard University, where he studied mathematics but spent much of his energy at the computer center. In 1975, after the MITS Altair 8800 microcomputer appeared on the cover ofPopular Electronics, he and Allen wrote a version of the BASIC programming language for it, and Gates left Harvard to pursue the opportunity full time. He never returned to finish his degree — making "Harvard dropout" one of the most famous lines on his résumé — though Harvard awarded him an honorary degree in 2007.

Career: From Microsoft to Philanthropy

Founding Microsoft (1975)

Gates and Allen formally founded Microsoft (originally "Micro-Soft") on April 4, 1975, first in Albuquerque, New Mexico, near MITS, before relocating to the Seattle area in 1979. Its early business was programming languages, but the decisive break came in 1980, when IBM, racing to build a personal computer, needed an operating system. Microsoft acquired an existing system, adapted it into MS-DOS, and — crucially — licensed it to IBM rather than selling it outright, keeping the right to license the same software to other manufacturers.

That licensing decision is the foundation of Microsoft's fortune. As "IBM-compatible" PCs from dozens of manufacturers flooded the market through the 1980s, almost all of them ran Microsoft's operating system. Microsoft, not IBM, captured the software standard.

The Windows Era

Microsoft released the first version of Windows in 1985, layering a graphical interface on top of DOS. Early versions were modest, but Windows 3.0 (1990), Windows 95, and their successors made it the dominant desktop operating system worldwide. Paired with the Office suite — Word, Excel, and PowerPoint — Windows gave the company two reinforcing monopoly positions in operating systems and productivity software.

Microsoft's 1986 IPO made Gates a paper billionaire by 1987, among the youngest self-made billionaires in history. Through the 1990s he drove the company to dominate market after market, often to the alarm of rivals and, eventually, regulators.

The Antitrust Years (1990s)

Microsoft's dominance drew sustained government scrutiny. In 1998 the U.S. Department of Justice and 20 states sued the company for illegally maintaining its operating-system monopoly — most visibly by bundling its Internet Explorer browser with Windows to crush Netscape. In 2000 a federal judge ruled that Microsoft had violated antitrust law and ordered it split in two. An appeals court overturned the breakup in 2001 but upheld the finding that Microsoft was an unlawful monopolist, and the case ended in a 2001–2002 settlement imposing conduct restrictions. The episode consumed Gates's attention and reputation and set a precedent for later scrutiny of big technology companies.

Stepping Back

Gates handed the chief-executive role to longtime colleague in 2000, taking the title of "chief software architect." In 2008 he transitioned out of day-to-day work to focus on philanthropy, stepped down as chairman in 2014 — the year became CEO — and left Microsoft's board entirely in March 2020, ending a 45-year formal association with the company he built. He remains a shareholder.

Transition to Philanthropy

Gates and his then-wife Melinda established what became the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, and over the following two decades he progressively shifted his time, identity, and wealth from technology to global development. He also launched climate-focused ventures — the nuclear-energy company TerraPower (mid-2000s) and the investment and advocacy group Breakthrough Energy (2015) — and authored books includingHow to Avoid a Climate Disaster(2021) and the memoirSource Code: My Beginnings(2025).

Bill Gates Net Worth and Wealth Sources

Estimates of Bill Gates's net worth in early-to-mid 2026 cluster in theUS$100–110 billionrange — individual trackers placed him between roughly US$102 billion and US$108 billion, with several indices recording a double-digit-billion decline over the first months of the year amid market volatility. Treat any single figure as a snapshot: billionaire net-worth estimates move with equity markets daily and differ across Forbes, Bloomberg, and other sources.

What is more durable than the exact number is theshapeof his wealth, which has changed dramatically:

• Microsoft stake — now small.Gates once owned around 45% of Microsoft at its IPO. Over the decades he has sold shares and donated enormous quantities to his foundation, and he now holds only about 1% of the company or less. The bulk of his net worth is no longer tied to Microsoft stock.
• Cascade Investment.The majority of Gates's fortune sits in Cascade Investment, his private holding company, run for years by money manager Michael Larson. Cascade is heavily diversified and deliberatelynotconcentrated in technology; reported holdings have spanned waste management, railroads, equipment manufacturing, hospitality, and other established companies.
• Real estate and farmland.Gates is, by various accounts, among the largest private owners of agricultural farmland in the United States, alongside extensive real-estate interests.
• Other assets.Gifts of Berkshire Hathaway stock from longtime friend have flowed largely to the foundation rather than to Gates personally.

One caveat for any "net worth" headline: Gates has given away well over US$100 billion and says his fortune would be far larger otherwise. His current ranking — generally in the world's top 20, rather than at the very top where he sat for years — is the direct result of that giving, his 2021 divorce settlement, and his diversification away from a single tech holding.

Leadership and Philosophy

At Microsoft, Gates was known for an intense, detail-obsessed, and combative management style: he read code, challenged engineers directly, and demanded rigor in meetings. That intensity built a fiercely competitive culture that drove Microsoft's dominance but also drew criticism that the company was ruthless toward rivals.

In philanthropy he carried over the same data-first instinct, treating charitable giving as an engineering problem: identify high-impact interventions (vaccines, sanitation, agricultural yields), fund them at scale, and track outcomes rigorously. A self-described optimist about long-run human progress, he frequently argues — with charts — that the world has become measurably healthier and less poor over his lifetime, even as he warns that recent cuts to global aid risk reversing that progress for the first time in a generation.

Notable Controversies

A figure as prominent and long-tenured as Gates has attracted significant controversy. The major ones, presented factually:

The Microsoft Antitrust Case

As described above, U.S. courts found in 2000–2001 that Microsoft had unlawfully maintained a monopoly. Critics argued Gates's competitive tactics stifled rivals; defenders argued the company simply built better, cheaper, more widely compatible products. The legal finding stands as the most consequential business controversy of his Microsoft career.

Association with Jeffrey Epstein

Gates met repeatedly with the financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, beginning around 2011 — after Epstein's 2008 conviction. Gates has said the meetings concerned philanthropy and global-health fundraising, has called the association a serious error of judgment, and has stated that he was never involved in any of Epstein's crimes, never visited Epstein's island, and did nothing illegal. The relationship has drawn renewed scrutiny: a U.S. Justice Department document release in early 2026 again put Gates's contacts with Epstein in the headlines. Some claims attributed to Epstein in old draft emails were characterized by Gates's representatives as "absolutely absurd and completely false." Gates has acknowledged the association strained his marriage.

Divorce from Melinda French Gates

Gates and Melinda French Gates announced their divorce in 2021, ending a 27-year marriage; it was finalized that August. Reporting at the time indicated that Melinda's discomfort with Bill's Epstein contacts was among the factors, and Gates has since publicly acknowledged past extramarital affairs during the marriage. The divorce was one of the largest in history by the value of assets involved and reshaped both his personal life and the leadership of their foundation.

Conspiracy Theories

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gates became the target of widespread, baseless conspiracy theories — including false claims that his vaccine philanthropy was a scheme to implant microchips. These claims have been repeatedly and thoroughly debunked, but they illustrate how his high profile in global health made him a lightning rod for misinformation.

Philanthropy and Personal Life

The Gates Foundation — renamed from the "Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation" to simply the "Gates Foundation" after Melinda French Gates stepped down as co-chair in June 2024 — is the centerpiece of Gates's second act. It is the largest private foundation in the world, with an endowment historically anchored by gifts from both Gates and Warren Buffett, whose 2006 pledge dramatically expanded its resources.

Its flagship work is in global health: funding vaccine development and delivery, fighting malaria, polio, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis, improving maternal and child health and nutrition, and supporting sanitation in low-income countries. Gates also co-founded the Giving Pledge (2010, with Buffett), which asks billionaires to commit most of their wealth to philanthropy. Observers credit the foundation with helping drive major reductions in childhood mortality and progress toward eradicating polio, while critics question the influence a single private foundation wields over global health priorities.

Gates has three adult children with Melinda French Gates — Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe — and has said most of his fortune will go to philanthropy rather than to them. An avid reader, bridge player, and tennis enthusiast, he publishes regular book recommendations; his 2025 memoir,Source Code, covered his childhood and the early Microsoft years.

Current Status in 2026 and Legacy

As of mid-2026, Bill Gates is 70 and focused on accelerating his giving. In May 2025 he announced that he intends to give away "virtually all" of his wealth through the Gates Foundation and toclose the foundation permanently on December 31, 2045. He has said it will spend on the order of US$200 billion over those two decades — its endowment plus his remaining fortune plus investment growth — roughly doubling its annual budget toward US$9 billion.

In his May 2025 announcement, Gates wrote:People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that 'he died rich' will not be one of them. There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.The foundation's 2026 annual letter, framed around "the road to 2045," reiterated the plan and warned that recent reductions in international aid threaten decades of hard-won progress in child survival and disease control.

Gates's legacy is two-sided and still being written. As a technologist, he is one of the architects of the personal-computer revolution, whose software ran the machines that reshaped daily life worldwide. As a philanthropist, he is attempting something historically unusual: to deploy a self-made mega-fortune, deliberately and within his lifetime, against global disease and poverty — and to unwind it entirely rather than leave a perpetual institution behind. Whether judged by market dominance or lives saved, he remains one of the most consequential private citizens of his era.

For related profiles and context, see , , , and .

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is Bill Gates worth in 2026?

Estimates in early-to-mid 2026 place his net worth in the roughly US$100–110 billion range, with trackers varying between about US$102 billion and US$108 billion depending on the day. The figure moves with the stock market and is far lower than it would be had he not given away well over US$100 billion.

How did Bill Gates make his money?

He co-founded Microsoft in 1975 and built the dominant operating-system and office-software company of the PC era; Microsoft's 1986 IPO made him a billionaire. Today most of his wealth no longer sits in Microsoft stock but in Cascade Investment, his diversified private holding company, plus extensive real-estate and farmland assets.

Did Bill Gates finish college?

No. Gates enrolled at Harvard University in 1973 but left in 1975 to start Microsoft and never completed his undergraduate degree, making him one of the most famous college dropouts in business history. Harvard awarded him an honorary degree in 2007.

Is Bill Gates still involved with Microsoft?

Not in any official capacity. He stepped down as CEO in 2000, left day-to-day work in 2008, gave up the chairmanship in 2014, and resigned from Microsoft's board in March 2020. He remains a shareholder and has occasionally advised the company, but his primary work is now philanthropy.

What is Bill Gates doing now?

He chairs the Gates Foundation and is focused on global health, poverty, and climate. In 2025 he announced a plan to give away virtually all his wealth and to close the foundation by the end of 2045, roughly doubling its spending in the interim. He also backs climate ventures such as Breakthrough Energy and TerraPower.

How many children does Bill Gates have, and is he married?

Gates has three adult children — Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe — with Melinda French Gates, whom he married in 1994 and divorced in 2021. He has said the large majority of his fortune will go to philanthropy rather than to his children.