History of Bill Gates and Microsoft



History of Bill Gates and Microsoft



by David Barth
written June 12, 2008



From Wired, June 2008, pages 46 and 47.

In June 2008 Bill Gates retired from full-time work at Microsoft. This is a short biographical look at his extraordinary rise from college dropout to the richest man in the world.


The 1950s

William Henry Gates was born in Seattle, Washington, USA on October 28, 1955. His grandmother, Adelle, called him "Trey," the cardplayer's term for a "three." Later, Bill became an avid poker player and eventually played cards with Warren Buffett.


The 1960s

  • In 1967 Bill was a difficult sixth grader.
  • In the Fall of 1967, he was enrolled at an exclusive school in Seattle, Lakeside School. He was the smallest boy in class, but he had size 13 feet.
  • In 1968 he and Lakeside classmate Paul Allen leaned Basic language from a manual. Within a few weeks, they boys had used up the school's annual budget for time on a PDP-10 computer. They soon got a contract from Computer Center Corporation to report PDP-10 software bugs in trade for computer time.


The 1970s

  • In 1971 Gill wrote computer programs for Lakeside School, including one that created class schedules. He wrote the code to place himself in classes with girls he liked.
  • In September 1973 he enrolled at Harvard. His photographic memory helped him cram for tests, but he missed a lot of classes. He spent a lot of time playing poker and writing computer programs. At Harvard, Bill got to know Steve Ballmer who lived down the hall in the same dormitory.
  • In January 1975 Paul Allen purchased a copy of Popular Electronics that had a picture of the Altair 8800 computer. He showed the magazine to Bill. A few days later, Bill phoned MITS, the maker of the Altair 8800 and tells the company that he and Paul can create a version of the Basic language that will run on it.
  • On February 1, 1975, Bill and Paul finished writing the code and sold it to MITS for $3,000 plus a percentage of royalties up to $180,000.
  • On November 26, 1976 Bill and Paul registered the trade name Microsoft. Paul is 23 and Bill is 21.
  • In January 1977, Bill leaves Harvard and relocates Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA where MITS is located. He is a tireless worker and expects his employees to work as hard as he does.
  • In late 1977, Bill is arrested several times for speeding in his Porsche 911.
  • On January 1, 1979, Bill moves Microsoft headquarters to Belleview, Washington, USA.


The 1980s

  • On August 28, 1980, Bill signs a contract with IBM to develop software for the IBM Personal Computer (PC). Although Bill has the software for peripheral drivers and the Basic language, he does not own an operating system. Bill purchases an operating system called QDOS for $50,000. He improves it, calls it Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS) and licenses it to IBM to run on its PCs. Bill retains the rights to sell MS-DOS to any other manufacturers of PC-type computers, of which there are none at the time.
  • On August 12, 1981, IBM begins shipping its PC with MS-DOS version 1.0.
  • In 1982 50 manufacturers of PC clone computers purchase licenses of the MS-DOS operating system from Microsoft for each computer they sell.
  • On February 18, 1983, after a bout with Hodgkin's disease, Paul Allen resigns as executive vice president. Paul is a billionaire.
  • On November 10, 1983, Microsoft introduces Windows, an MS-DOS-based operating system with a graphical user interface (GUI).
  • On January 24, 1984, Bill attends an Apple event to introduce the Macintosh computer because Microsoft wrote the operating system for that computer.
  • In 1985, Microsoft hires the first two female executives to meet federal affirmative action guidelines to qualify for an Air Force contract.
  • On August 12, 1985, after 10 years of operation, Microsoft annual sales reach $140 million.
  • On March 13, 1986, Microsoft goes public at $21 per share with the stock symbol MSFT. At the end of the day, the per share price is $28, raising $61 million for the company.
  • In 1987, at a press event in Manhattan, New York, Bill meets Melinda French, his future wife.
  • On August 1, 1989, Microsoft Office is introduced.


The 1990s

  • May 13, 1990, Mother's Day, Bill Gates scheduled a retreat for Microsoft company executives.
  • In June 1990 the Federal Trade Commission began investigating possible collusion between IBM and Microsoft regarding software for personal computers.
  • On April 11, 1993, during a chartered flight from Florida to Seattle, Bill proposed to Melinda French. He had the pilot make an unscheduled stop in Omaha, Nebraska so that he and Melinda could go shopping for an engagement ring with Warren Buffett.
  • On August 20, 1993 the Justice Department took over the investigation of IBM and Microsoft collusion from the Federal Trade Commission.
  • Bill and Melinda were married on Jaunary 1, 1994 in a small ceremony in Hawaii, on the island of Lanai. To surprise Melinda, Bill hired Willie Nelson to perform at the wedding. Willie is one of Melinda's favorite singers.
  • In July 1994 Microsoft agreed to a federal consent decree that required Microsoft to cease certain anticompetitive business practices regarding software distribution.
  • On November 11, 1994 Bill purchased da Vinci's Codex Hammer, a 72-page collection of scientific writings, for $30.8 million.
  • In 1995 Bill appeared in a Coke commercial presenting an ironical theme where Bill, one of the wealthiest men on the planet, searches his pockets for change to buy a coke from a machine. It is reported that Bill likes Diet Coke.
  • On July 17, 1995, he became the riches man in the world, with assets of $12.9 billion. At this time, Bill was 39 years old, Microsoft's revenue for 1995 was $5.9 billion, and the company had 17,801 employees.
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer was introduced on August 24, 1995 to compete with Netscape and other Internet web browsers.
  • In December 1996 Microsoft stock high was 88 percent above December 1995. Due to this increase in stock price, Bill's asset valuation increased $30 million each day of 1996.
  • On October 20, 1997, the Justice Department fined Microsoft $1 million per day for violating the 1994 consent decree because the company required PC manufacturers to add Internet Explorer to their hardware if they wanted to obtain a Windows 95 license. That fine, which was calculated from August 1995 to October 1997, may have exceeded 700 million dollars.
  • On February 4, 1998 Bill was hit in the face with a cream pie while on his way to meet with businessmen and government officials from Belgium. Of that event, he said the pie wasn't that tasty.
  • On My 18, 1998 the Justice Department and 20 state attorneys general sued Microsoft for once again violating the consent decree of 1994. This time the charge is that Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with the operating system.
  • On November 9, 1998 Bill produces a videotaped deposition. Noting that he rocks as he talks, some doctors speculated that he had Asperger's syndrome.
  • In 1999 Bill and Melinda renamed the "William H. Gates Foundation" to the "Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation," a non-profit organization that provides aid, worldwide.


The 2000s

  • On January 13, 2000 Bill stepped down as CEO of Microsoft to become the company's chief software architect. Steve Ballmer, a long-time friend since Bill's days at Harvard, is named CEO.
  • On June 7, 2000 a US federal district judge orders that Microsoft be split into two separate companies.
  • On June 28, 2001 the US Court of Appeals overturns the lower judge's ruling, and Microsoft does not have to be divided into two companies.
  • On March 2, 2005, Bill received an honorary knighthood at Buckingham Palace, entitling him to put "KBE" after his name. It stands for "Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire."
  • In December 2005, Bill and Melinda were selected as Time Magazine's Persons of the Year.
  • On June 15, 2006, Bill announced that he was retiring from Microsoft in a two-year phase-out.
  • On June 26, 2006 Warren Buffet adds $30 million to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, doubling it size and making it the largest "transparently operated" charitable organization in the world.
  • In March 2008, after being on top of Forbes Magazine's list of the world's richest people, Bill drips to third place with assets of $58 billion. His old card-playing pal, Warren Buffet, replaces him at the number one position.


Bill Gates on Wired Covers:

  • April 1994: Bill is featured on the Cover of Wired and tells the story of the Microsoft antitrust case.
  • June 1996: Bill's second Wired Cover with the story of Microsoft's entry into the media business.
  • November 2000: In an article, Bill tells the untold story of the Microsoft antitrust case.