BILL GATES

EARLY LIFE
Entrepreneur Bill Gates, born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington, began to show an interest in computer programming at the age of 1 ! "hrough technological inno#ation, $een business strateg%, an& aggressi#e competiti#e tactics, he an& his partner 'aul (llen built the worl&)s largest software business, *icrosoft! +n the process, Bill Gates became one of the richest men in the worl&!

EARLY CAREER
Gates enrolle& at ,ar#ar& -ni#ersit% in the fall, originall% thin$ing of a career in law! But his freshman %ear saw him spen& more of his time in the computer lab than in class! Gates &i& not reall% ha#e a stu&% regimen! +nstea&, he coul& get b% on a few hours of sleep, cram for a test, an& pass with a reasonable gra&e! Gates remaine& in contact with 'aul (llen who, after atten&ing Washington State -ni#ersit% for two %ears, &roppe& out an& mo#e& to Boston, *assachusetts, to wor$ for ,one%well! +n the summer of 19./, Gates 0oine& (llen at ,one%well! 1uring this time, (llen showe& Gates an e&ition of 'opular Electronics maga2ine featuring an article on the (ltair 8833 mini4computer $it! Both bo%s were fascinate& with the possibilities this computer coul& ma$e towar& personal computing! "he (ltair was ma&e b% a small compan% in (lbu5uer5ue, 6ew *e7ico, calle& *icro +nstrumentation an& "elemetr% S%stems 8*+"S9! Gates an& (llen contacte& the compan% proclaiming the% were wor$ing on a B(S+: software program that woul& run the (ltair computer! +n realit%, the% &i&n)t ha#e an (ltair to wor$ with or the co&e to run it! But the% wante& to $now if *+"S was intereste& in someone &e#eloping such software! *+"S was, an& its

presi&ent E& ;oberts as$e& the bo%s for a &emonstration! Gates an& (llen scramble&, an& spent the ne7t two months writing the software at ,ar#ar&)s computer lab! (llen tra#ele& to (lbu5uer5ue for a test run at *+"S, ne#er ha#ing trie& it out on an (ltair computer! +t wor$e& perfectl%! (llen was hire& at *+"S an& Gates soon left ,ar#ar& to wor$ with him, much to his parents) &isma%! +n 19.5, Gates an& (llen forme& a partnership the% calle& *icro4Soft, a blen& of <micro4 computer< an& <software!< *icrosoft 8Gates an& (llen &roppe& the h%phen in less than a %ear9 starte& off on sha$% footing! "hough their B(S+: software program for the (ltair computer nette& the compan% a fee an& ro%alties, it wasn)t meeting their o#erhea&! *icrosoft)s B(S+: software was popular with computer hobb%ists who obtaine& pre4mar$et copies an& were repro&ucing an& &istributing them for free! (ccor&ing to Gates) later account, onl% about 13 percent of the people using B(S+: in the (ltair computer ha& actuall% pai& for it! (t this time, much of the personal computer enthusiasts were people not in it for the mone%! "he% felt the ease of repro&uction an& &istribution allowe& them to share software with frien&s an& fellow computer enthusiasts! Bill Gates thought &ifferentl%! ,e saw the free &istribution of software as stealing, especiall% when it in#ol#e& software that was create& to be sol&! +n =ebruar% of 19.>, Gates wrote an open letter to computer hobb%ists sa%ing that continue& &istribution an& use of software without pa%ing for it woul& <pre#ent goo& software from being written!< +n essence, pirating software woul& &iscourage &e#elopers from in#esting time an& mone% into creating 5ualit% software! "he letter was unpopular with computer enthusiasts, but Gates stuc$ to his beliefs an& woul& use the threat of inno#ation as a &efense when face& with charges of unfair business practices!

THE RISE OF MICROSOFT

Gates) acumen for not onl% software &e#elopment but also business operations put him in the position of lea&ing the compan% an& wor$ing as its spo$esperson! ,e personall% re#iewe& e#er% line of

co&e the compan% shippe&, often rewriting co&e when he saw it necessar%! (s the computer in&ustr% began to grow with companies li$e (pple, +ntel, an& +B* &e#eloping har&ware an& components, Bill was continuousl% out on the roa& touting the merits of *icrosoft software applications! ,e often too$ his mother with him! *ar% was highl% respecte& an& well connecte& with her membership on se#eral corporate boar&s inclu&ing +B*! +t was through *ar% that Bill Gates met the :EO of +B*! +n 6o#ember 1983, +B* was loo$ing for software that woul& operate their upcoming personal computer 8':9 an& approache& *icrosoft! ?egen& has it that at the first meeting with Bill Gates someone at +B* mistoo$ him for an office assistant an& as$e& him to ser#e coffee! Gates &i& loo$ #er% %oung, but he 5uic$l% impresse& +B*, con#incing them that he an& his compan% coul& meet their nee&s! "he onl% problem was that *icrosoft ha& not &e#elope& the basic operating s%stem that woul& run +B*)s new computers! 6ot to be stoppe&, Gates bought an operating s%stem that was &e#elope& to run on computers similar to +B*)s ':! ,e ma&e a &eal with the software)s &e#eloper, ma$ing *icrosoft the e7clusi#e licensing agent an& later full owner of the software but not telling them of the +B* &eal! "he compan% later sue& *icrosoft an& Gates for withhol&ing important information! *icrosoft settle& out of court for an un&isclose& amount, but neither Gates nor *icrosoft a&mitte& to an% wrong &oing! Gates ha& to a&apt the newl% purchase& software to wor$ for the +B* ':! ,e &eli#ere& it for a @53,333 fee, the same price he ha& pai& for the software in its original form! +B* wante& to bu% the source co&e, which woul& ha#e gi#en them the information to the operating s%stem! Gates refuse&, instea& proposing that +B* pa% a licensing fee for copies of the software sol& with their computers! 1oing this allowe& *icrosoft to license the software the% calle& *S41OS to an% other ': manufacturer, shoul& other computer companies clone the +B* ':, which the% soon &i&! *icrosoft also release& software calle& Softcar&, which allowe& *icrosoft B(S+: to operate on (pple ++ machines! Between 19.8 an& 1981, *icrosoft)s growth e7plo&e&, an& staff increase& from 25 to 128! ;e#enue also shot up from @/ million to @1> million! +n mi&41981 Gates an& (llen incorporate& *icrosoft, an&

Gates was appointe& presi&ent an& chairman of the boar&! (llen was name& e7ecuti#e #ice4presi&ent! B% 198 , *icrosoft was going global with offices in Great Britain an& Aapan, an& with 3 percent of the worl&)s computers running on its software! But 198 also brought news that roc$e& *icrosoft to its #er% foun&ation! 'aul (llen was &iagnose& with ,o&g$in)s &isease!

THE INVENTION OF MICROSOFT WINDOWS

"hough their ri#alr% is legen&, *icrosoft an& (pple share& man% of their earl% inno#ations! +n 1981 (pple in#ite& *icrosoft to help &e#elop software for *acintosh computers! Some &e#elopers were in#ol#e& in both *icrosoft &e#eleopment, an& the &e#elopment of *icrosoft applications for *acintosh! "he collaboration coul& be seen in some share& names between the *icrosoft an& *acintosh s%stems! +t was through this $nowle&ge sharing that *icrosoft was to &e#elop Win&ows! ( s%stem was that use& a mouse to &ri#e a graphic interface, &ispla%ing te7t an& images on the screen! "his &iffere& greatl% from the te7t an& $e%boar& &ri#en *S41OS s%stem where all te7t formatting showe& on the screen as co&e an& not what actuall% woul& be printe&! Bill Gates 5uic$l% recogni2e& the threat this $in& of software might pose for *S41OS an& *icrosoft o#erall! =or the unsophisticate& userBwhich was most of the bu%ing publicBthe graphic imager% of the Cisi:orp software woul& be so much easier to use! Gates announce& in an a&#ertising campaign that a new *icrosoft operating s%stem was about to be &e#elope& that woul& use a graphic interface! +t was to be calle& <Win&ows,< an& woul& be compatible with all ': software pro&ucts &e#elope& on the *S41OS s%stem! "he announcement was a bluff, in that *icrosoft ha& no such

program un&er &e#elopment! But as a mar$eting tactic it was sheer genius as nearl% 3 percent of the computer mar$et was using the *S41OS s%stem an& woul& wait for Win&ows software rather than change to a new s%stem! Without people willing to change formats, software &e#elopers were unwilling to write programs for the Cisi:orp s%stem an& it lost momentum b% earl% 1985! +n 6o#ember 1985, Bill Gates an& *icrosoft launche& Win&owsD nearl% two %ears after his announcement! Cisuall% the Win&ows s%stem loo$e& #er% similar to the *acintosh s%stem (pple :omputer :orporation ha& intro&uce& nearl% two %ears earlier! (pple ha& earlier gi#en *icrosoft full access to their technolog% while it was wor$ing on ma$ing *icrosoft pro&ucts compatible for (pple computers! Gates ha& a&#ise& (pple to license their software but the% ignore& the a&#ice, being more intereste& in selling computers! Once again, Gates too$ full a&#antage of the situation an& create& a software format that was stri$ingl% similar to the *acintosh! (pple threatene& to sue an& *icrosoft retaliate&, sa%ing it woul& &ela% shipment of its *icrosoft compatible software for *acintosh users! +n the en&, *icrosoft pre#aile& in the courts because it coul& pro#e that while there were similarities in how the two software s%stems operate&, each in&i#i&ual function was &istinctl% &ifferent! +n 198>, Bill Gates too$ *icrosoft public with an initial public offering 8+'O9 of @21 per share! Gates hel& /5 percent of the compan%)s 2/!. million shares an& became an instant millionaire at age 1! Gates) sta$e at that time was @2 / million of *icrosoft)s @523 million! O#er time, the compan%)s stoc$ increase& in #alue an& split numerous times! +n 198., Bill Gates became a billionaire when the stoc$ raise& to @93!.5 a share! Since then, Gates has been on the top or near the top of =orbes) /33 list of the worl&)s wealthiest people! +n 1999, with stoc$ prices at an all time high an& the stoc$ splitting eight4fol& since its +'O, Gates) wealth briefl% toppe& @131 billion!