Bill Gates helped usher in a personal computing revolution that brought computers to the masses.
The Seattle native dropped out of Harvard University and co-founded Microsoft in 1975. Microsoft went on to become the world's largest software company, and it made Gates into a billionaire. Gates claimed the top spot on the Forbes World's Billionaires List for 12 consecutive years, from 1995 to 2007.
After holding a number of leading roles at the company he co-founded, Gates eventually left his day job at Microsoft in 2008 to focus full time on his philanthropic organization, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates' philanthropic endeavors have garnered global acclaim: In 2005, Gates was knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, and in 2016 he and his wife received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.
In 2021, Bill and Melinda French Gates announced they were ending their marriage after 27 years. The couple said, however, that they would continue to jointly run their namesake foundation. She announced in May 2024 that she would be resigning as co-chair.