Bill Gates smiling in a suit and glasses, highlighting his bio and career highlights.

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons

Bill Gates

Height

5 ft 10 in (178 cm)

Net Worth

$106500 million, 2026 est.

Nationality

American

Born

October 28, 1955

Birthplace

Seattle, Washington, US

Age

71 Years Old

Horoscope

Scorpio

Who Is Bill Gates?

Bill Gates is an American tech entrepreneur and philanthropist who drove the personal computer revolution. As the co-founder of Microsoft, he transformed operating system software into a ubiquitous global industry that redefined modern business, work, and personal computing.

Gates rose to international prominence after launching MS-DOS for IBM in the early 1980s. The subsequent explosive adoption of Windows made Microsoft a household name, while his vast philanthropy expanded his global reach; he is famously recognized for his signature aviator-style eyeglasses.

Full NameWilliam Henry Gates III
GenderMale
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Relationship StatusDivorced
Net Worth$106500 million, 2026 est.
NationalityAmerican
EthnicityWhite
EducationLakeside School, Harvard University
FatherWilliam Henry Gates II
MotherMary Maxwell Gates
SiblingsKristi Gates, Libby Gates
KidsJennifer Katharine Gates, Rory John Gates, Phoebe Adele Gates

Early Life and Education

Family discussions in Seattle, Washington fostered a competitive childhood for young Bill Gates. His parents, attorney William H. Gates Sr. and civic leader Mary Maxwell, encouraged intense reading, board games, and an early fascination with computing technology.

At Lakeside School, he discovered computer programming alongside his close friend Paul Allen. The duo spent late nights writing code on an early Teletype terminal, gaining practical software skills that eventually led Gates to enroll at Harvard University.

Notable Relationships

A long marriage to Melinda French defined his most prominent public relationship. They married in 1994 after meeting at Microsoft and spent nearly three decades together before finalizing their high-profile divorce in 2021.

Gates shares three adult children with French, with whom he maintains shared philanthropic initiatives. In more recent years, he has been spotted attending global public forums and tennis matches alongside Paula Hurd.

Career Highlights

Microsoft revolutionized personal computing through operating systems like MS-DOS and Windows. Under his executive leadership, the corporation dominated the global software marketplace, turning Windows into the standard operating environment for hundreds of millions of personal computers worldwide.

He co-founded the Gates Foundation to tackle poverty, disease, and global health inequities. The organization has funneled tens of billions of dollars toward eradicating polio, financing vaccine development, and boosting educational infrastructure globally.

His contributions to technology and global health earned him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has also received an honorary knighthood and India’s Padma Bhushan, cementing Gates as a defining figure of modern tech and philanthropy.

Signature Quote

“If you give people tools, and they use their natural ability and their curiosity, they will develop things in ways that will surprise you very much.”