Gates, William H.

Lead Author: Cutler J. Cleveland (other articles)
Article Topics: Energy policy and Environmental information and communication
This article has been reviewed and approved by the following Topic Editor: Tom Lawrence (other articles)
Last Updated: November 2, 2006

William (Bill) H. Gates (1955-) is co-founder with childhood friend Paul Allen of Microsoft Corporation, the world’s largest producer of software, services, and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. While a student at Harvard University, he co-authored with Paul Allen the original Altair BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800, the first commercially successful personal computer. In his junior year, Gates left Harvard to devote his energies to Microsoft, a company he had begun in 1975. Microsoft eventually grew to generate revenues of US$32 billion and employ more than 55,000 people in 85 countries and regions. He and his wife Melinda endowed a foundation with more than US$24 billion to support philanthropic initiatives in global health and learning, and to provide Internet access to developing nations. In June of 1999, Gates and his wife donated US$5 billion to their foundation, the largest single donation ever made by living individuals.

Further Reading
Bill Gates' Homepage (Microsoft Corporation)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Homepage

Citation
Cleveland, Cutler (Lead Author); Tom Lawrence (Topic Editor). 2006. "Gates, William H.." In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). [Published in the Encyclopedia of Earth November 2, 2006; Retrieved July 20, 2008]. <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Gates,_William_H.>
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