View source for Bill Gates

{{Short description|American businessman and philanthropist (born 1955)}}
{{About other people|the co-founder of Microsoft}}
{{Good article}}
{{Pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{POV|date=June 2025}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Bill Gates
| image              = Bill Gates at the European Commission - P067383-987995 (cropped) 5.jpg
| alt                = Bill Gates in 2025
| caption            = Gates in 2025
| birth_name         = William Henry Gates III
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1955|10|28}}
| birth_place        = [[Seattle]], Washington, U.S.<!-- DO NOT LINK, see [[MOS:GEOLINK]] -->
| education          = [[Harvard University]] (dropped&nbsp;out)
| occupation         = {{hlist|Businessman|philanthropist|computer programmer|writer}}
| years_active       = 1972–present
| known_for          = {{plainlist|
* {{longitem|Pioneer of the [[personal computer revolution]] with [[Paul Allen]]}}
* {{longitem|Co-founding of [[Microsoft]] and [[Gates Foundation]]}}}}
| title              = {{collapsible list
| titlestyle = font-style:italic; font-weight:normal;
| title      = {{If mobile||[[#Business ventures and investments (partial list)|See list]]}}
| bullets    = on
| Chair of the Gates Foundation
| Chairman and founder of [[Cascade Investment]]
| Chairman and founder of [[Branded Entertainment Network]]
| Chairman and co-founder of [[TerraPower]]
| Founder of [[Breakthrough Energy]]
| Founder of [[Gates Ventures]]
| Technology advisor of Microsoft}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Melinda French Gates|Melinda French]]|1994|2021|reason=divorce}}
| children           = 3, including [[Phoebe Gates|Phoebe]]
| parents            = {{plainlist|
* [[Bill Gates Sr.]]
* [[Mary Maxwell Gates|Mary Maxwell]]
}}
| relatives          = [[Family of Bill Gates|Gates family]]
| website            = {{URL|gatesnotes.com}}
| awards             = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society]] (1994)
* [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (2005)
* [[Padma Bhushan]] (2015)
* [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (2016)
* [[Order of the Rising Sun|Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun]] (2020)
* [[Hilal-e-Pakistan]] (2022)
}}
| signature          = Bill Gates signature.svg
| signature_alt      = William H. Gates III
}}
{{Bill Gates series}}

'''William Henry Gates III''' <!-- (a) "Bill" is excluded; see MOS:HYPOCORISM. (b) Please see the FAQ and previous discussions on the article's talk page; the FAQ records a consensus not to include post-nominals here or the top of the infobox, and WP:POSNOM only says to include them when they are issued by a state or organization "with which the subject has been closely associated" (which does not apply here). --> (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the [[microcomputer revolution]] of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company [[Microsoft]] in 1975 with his childhood friend [[Paul Allen]]. Following Microsoft's [[initial public offering]] in 1986 and the subsequent increase in its stock price, Gates became the world's then-youngest billionaire in 1987, at age 31. ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine ranked him as [[The World's Billionaires|the world's wealthiest person]] for 18 out of 24 years between 1995 and 2017, including 13 years consecutively from 1995 to 2007. Gates became the first [[centibillionaire]] in 1999, when his net worth briefly surpassed US$100 billion. According to ''Forbes'', as of February 2026, his net worth stood at US$107.7 billion, making him the 18th-wealthiest individual in the world.<ref>{{cite news |last=Forbes Staff |title=The World's Billionaires: Bill Gates |work=Forbes |date=23 February 2026 |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/ |access-date=23 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=BBC News |title=Bill Gates profile |work=BBC |date=25 April 2018 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30562165 |access-date=8 November 2025 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

Born and raised in [[Seattle]], Washington, Gates was privately educated at [[Lakeside School (Seattle)|Lakeside School]], where he befriended Allen and developed his computing interests. In 1973, he enrolled at [[Harvard University]], where he took classes including [[Math 55]] and graduate-level computer science courses, but he dropped out in 1975 to co-found and lead Microsoft. He served as its CEO for the next 25 years and also became president and chairman of the board when the company was incorporated in 1981. Succeeded as CEO by [[Steve Ballmer]] in 2000, he transitioned to [[Systems architect|chief software architect]], a position he held until 2008. He stepped down as chairman of the board in 2014 and became technology adviser to CEO [[Satya Nadella]] and other Microsoft leaders, a position he still holds. He resigned from the board in 2020.

Over time, Gates reduced his role at Microsoft to focus on his [[philanthropic]] work with the [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]], the world's largest private charitable organization, which he and his then-wife, [[Melinda French Gates]], co-chaired from 2000 until 2024. Focusing on areas including health, education, and poverty alleviation, Gates became known for his efforts to combat transmissible diseases such as [[tuberculosis]], [[malaria]], and [[polio]]. After French Gates resigned as co-chair following the couple's divorce, the foundation was renamed the [[Gates Foundation]], with Gates as its sole chair.

Gates is the founder and chairman of several other companies, including [[Branded Entertainment Network|BEN]], [[Cascade Investment]], [[TerraPower]], [[Gates Ventures]], and [[Breakthrough Energy]]. In 2010, he and [[Warren Buffett]] founded [[the Giving Pledge]], whereby they and other billionaires pledged to give at least half their wealth to philanthropy. Named as one of the [[Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century|100 most influential people of the 20th century]] by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine in 1999, he has received numerous other honors and accolades, including a [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], awarded jointly to him and French Gates in 2016 for their philanthropic work. The subject of several documentary films, he published the first of three planned memoirs, ''[[Source Code (memoir)|Source Code: My Beginnings]]'', in 2025.

== Early life and education ==
William Henry Gates III was born on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington,<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Bill Gates (American computer programmer, businessman, and philanthropist)|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bill-Gates|access-date=March 20, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130328082612/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/226865/Bill-Gates|publisher=[[Britannica]]|archive-date=March 28, 2013}}</ref> as the only son of [[William H. Gates Sr.]]{{efn|His father was named William H. Gates II, but he is now generally known as William H. Gates, Senior to avoid confusion with his son.}} (1925–2020) and his first wife, [[Mary Maxwell Gates]] (1929–1994).<ref name=mary-maxwell-gates-obit>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/11/obituaries/mary-gates-64-helped-her-son-start-microsoft.html|title=Mary Gates, 64; helped her son start Microsoft|date=June 11, 1994|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=April 3, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=April 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420102313/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/11/obituaries/mary-gates-64-helped-her-son-start-microsoft.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His ancestry includes [[English people|English]], [[Germans|German]], and [[Irish people|Irish]]/[[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scots-Irish]].<ref>"Microsoft founder Bill Gates has Yorkshire roots". ''The Telegraph''. June 23, 2020.</ref> His father was a prominent lawyer, and his mother served on the board of directors of [[First Interstate BancSystem]] and [[United Way of America]]. Gates's maternal grandfather, J. W. Maxwell, was a national bank president. Gates also has an older sister, Kristi (Kristianne), and a younger sister, Libby. He is the fourth of his name in his family, but is known as William Gates III or "Trey" (i.e., three) because his father had the "II" suffix.{{sfn|Manes|1994|p=15}}<ref name="leibovich20001231">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/12/31/alter-egos/91b267b0-858c-4d4e-a4bd-48f22e015f70/|title=Alter Egos|last=Leibovich|first=Mark|date=December 31, 2000|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=June 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161225224631/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2000/12/31/alter-egos/91b267b0-858c-4d4e-a4bd-48f22e015f70/|archive-date=December 25, 2016|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The family lived in the [[Sand Point, Seattle|Sand Point]] area of [[Seattle]] in a home that was damaged by a rare [[tornado]] when Gates was 7.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lange|first1=Greg|last2=Stein|first2=Alan|date=February 14, 1999|title=Tornado with 100-m.p.h. winds hits Seattle and Juanita on September 28, 1962.|url=http://www.historylink.org/File/886|work=[[HistoryLink]]|access-date=December 18, 2018 |archive-date=October 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019094436/http://www.historylink.org/File/886 |url-status=live}}</ref>

When Gates was young, his parents wanted him to pursue a career in law.{{sfn|Manes|1994|p=47}} During his childhood, his family regularly attended a church of the [[Congregational Christian Churches]], a [[Protestant Reformed Churches in America|Protestant Reformed]] denomination.<ref name="Congregational 1">{{cite book|title=Bill Gates: Entrepreneur and Philanthropist | url = https://archive.org/details/billgatesentrepr0000lesi |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/billgatesentrepr0000lesi/page/12 12] | first =Jeanne M |last=Lesinski|publisher=Twenty First Century Books|access-date=March 10, 2011|isbn= 978-1-58013-570-2|year=2008}}</ref><ref name="Congregational 2">{{cite book|title=Bill Gates speaks: Insight from the world's greatest entrepreneur|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LUwu-DTwa5cC&pg=PA3|first=Janet |last=Lowe|publisher=Wiley|access-date=March 10, 2011|isbn=978-0-471-40169-8|year=2001}}</ref><ref name="Congregational 3">{{cite book|title=Something happened: A political and cultural overview of the seventies|url=https://archive.org/details/somethinghappene00berk |page=[https://archive.org/details/somethinghappene00berk/page/228 228]|author-link=Edward D. Berkowitz|first=Edward D|last=Berkowitz|publisher=Columbia University Press|access-date=March 10, 2011|isbn=978-0-231-12494-2|year=2006|url-access=registration}}</ref>

Gates was small for his age and was bullied as a child.<ref name="leibovich20001231" /> The family encouraged competition; one visitor reported that "it didn't matter whether it was [[Hearts (card game)|hearts]] or [[pickleball]] or swimming to the dock; there was always a reward for winning, and there was always a penalty for losing".<ref name="nerds2">{{cite episode|title=Part II|series=Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires|credits=Cringely, Robert X.|url=https://www.pbs.org/nerds/part2.html|network=[[PBS]]|air-date=June 1996|season=1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813010139/http://www.pbs.org/nerds/part2.html|archive-date=August 13, 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Paul Allen and Bill Gates at Lakeside School in 1970.jpg|thumb|Gates (right) with [[Paul Allen]] seated at [[Teletype Model 33]] ASR terminals in [[Lakeside School (Seattle)|Lakeside School]], 1970]]

At age 13, Gates enrolled in the private [[Lakeside School (Seattle)|Lakeside Prep School]].{{sfn|Manes|1994|p=24}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Soundaian|first=S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nYGcDwAAQBAJ&q=bill%20gates%20banned%20for%20summer%20pdp-10&pg=PA50|title=New Dimensions of Management|date=June 10, 2019|publisher=MJP Publisher|access-date=October 14, 2020}}</ref> When he was in the eighth grade, the Mothers' Club at the school used proceeds from Lakeside School's [[rummage sale]] to buy a [[Teletype Model 33]] ASR terminal and a block of computer time on a [[General Electric]] (GE) computer for the students.{{sfn|Manes|1994|p=27}} Gates took an interest in programming the GE system in [[BASIC]], and he was excused from math classes to pursue his interest. He wrote his first computer program on this machine, an implementation of [[tic-tac-toe]] that allowed users to play games against the computer. Gates was fascinated by the machine and how it would always execute software code perfectly.{{sfn|Gates|1996|p=12}} 

After the Mothers Club donation was exhausted, Gates and other students sought time on systems, including [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[Programmed Data Processor|PDP]] minicomputers. One of these systems was a [[PDP-10]] belonging to [[Computer Center Corporation]] (CCC), which banned Gates, [[Paul Allen]], [[Ric Weiland]], and Gates's best friend and first business partner, Kent Evans, for the summer after it caught them exploiting [[Bug (engineering)|bugs]] in the operating system to obtain free computer time.{{sfn|Manes|1994|p=34}}{{r|leibovich20001231}}

The four students formed the Lakeside Programmers Club to make money.{{r|leibovich20001231}} At the end of the ban, they offered to find bugs in CCC's software in exchange for extra computer time. Rather than using the system remotely via [[Teleprinter|Teletype]], Gates went to CCC's offices and studied [[source code]] for various programs that ran on the system, including [[Fortran]], [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]], and [[machine language]]. The arrangement with CCC continued until 1970, when the company went out of business.<ref name="leibovich20001231" />

In 1971, a Lakeside teacher enlisted Gates and Evans to automate the school's class-scheduling system, providing them computer time and royalties in return. The duo worked diligently in order to have the program ready for their senior year. Towards the end of their junior year, Evans was killed in a mountain climbing accident, which Gates described as one of the saddest days of his life. He then turned to Allen, who helped him finish the system for Lakeside.<ref name="leibovich20001231" />

At age 17, Gates formed a venture with Allen called [[Traf-O-Data]] to make traffic counters based on the [[Intel 8008]] processor.{{sfn|Gates|1996|p=14}} In 1972, he served as a [[congressional page]] in the House of Representatives.<ref name="Schuman2008">{{cite book|first=Michael A.|last=Schuman|title=Bill Gates: Computer Mogul and Philanthropist|url=https://archive.org/details/billgatescompute0000schu|url-access=registration|year=2008|publisher=Enslow Publishers, Inc.|isbn=978-0-7660-2693-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/billgatescompute0000schu/page/34 34]}}</ref><ref name="Sims2018">{{cite book|first=Marcie|last=Sims|title=Capitol Hill Pages: Young Witnesses to 200 Years of History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L1NLDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA196|year=2018|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1-4766-6972-4|page=196|access-date=May 5, 2018}}</ref> He was a [[National Merit Scholarship Program|national merit scholar]] when he graduated from Lakeside School in 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=416|title=National Merit Scholarship Corporation&nbsp;– Scholars You May Know|work=nationalmerit.org|access-date=October 25, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228095002/http://www.nationalmerit.org/s/1758/interior.aspx?sid=1758&gid=2&pgid=416|archive-date=February 28, 2016}}</ref> He scored 1590 out of 1600 on the [[SAT]] and enrolled at [[Harvard University]] in the autumn of 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theweekmagazine.com/article.aspx?id=803|title=The new – and improved? – SAT|access-date=May 23, 2006|work=[[The Week]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510205250/http://theweekmagazine.com/article.aspx?id=803|archive-date=May 10, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Gates|1996|p=15}}

Gates did not stay at Harvard long enough to choose a concentration, but took mathematics (including [[Math 55]]) and graduate-level computer science courses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Timeline: Bill Gates: 1973; from google (bill gates major in harvard) result 3|publisher=[[NPR]]|url=https://www.npr.org/news/graphics/2008/june/bill_gates/gates_timeline_04.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005190613/http://www.npr.org/news/graphics/2008/june/bill_gates/gates_timeline_04.html|archive-date=October 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> While at Harvard, he met fellow student and future Microsoft CEO [[Steve Ballmer]]. Gates left Harvard after two years while Ballmer stayed and graduated ''[[magna cum laude]]''. Years later, Ballmer succeeded Gates as Microsoft's CEO and maintained that position from 2000 until his resignation in 2014.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TO5LIILHmcYC&pg=RA1-PA263|title=Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and Globalization|first1=Michael|last1=Hitt|first2=R. Duane|last2=Ireland|first3=Robert|last3=Hoskisson|isbn=978-1-111-82587-4|page=263|access-date=October 25, 2015|year=2012|publisher=Cengage Learning}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/27/the-no-1-thing-bill-gates-wishes-hed-done-at-harvard.html|title=The No. 1 thing Bill Gates wishes he'd done in college|last=Mejia|first=Zameena|date=April 29, 2018|website=CNBC|access-date=April 3, 2020|archive-date=March 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303174636/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/27/the-no-1-thing-bill-gates-wishes-hed-done-at-harvard.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gates devised an algorithm for [[pancake sorting]] as a solution to one of a series of [[List of unsolved problems in mathematics|unsolved problems]]<ref name="Kestenbaum2008">{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92236781|title=Before Microsoft, Gates solved a pancake problem|last=Kestenbaum|first=David|date=July 4, 2008|publisher=National Public Radio|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919161456/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92236781|archive-date=September 19, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> presented in a [[combinatorics]] class by Professor [[Harry R. Lewis|Harry Lewis]]. His solution held the record as the fastest version for over 30 years, and its successor is faster by only 2%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.utdallas.edu/news/2008/09/17-002.php |publisher=University of Texas at Dallas |date=September 17, 2008 |title=UT Dallas team bests young Bill Gates with improved answer to so-called pancake problem in mathematics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100826084836/http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2008/09/17-002.php|archive-date=August 26, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> His solution was formalized and published in collaboration with Harvard computer scientist [[Christos Papadimitriou]].<ref name="gatespapadimitriou">{{cite journal|last1=Gates|first1=William|last2=Papadimitriou|first2=Christos|year=1979|title=Bounds for sorting by prefix reversal|journal=Discrete Mathematics|volume=27|issue=1|pages=47–57|doi=10.1016/0012-365X(79)90068-2|doi-access=free|issn=0012-365X}}</ref>

Gates remained in contact with Paul Allen and joined him at [[Honeywell]] during the summer of 1974.{{sfn|Wallace|1993|p=59}} In 1975, the [[MITS Altair 8800]] was released based on the [[Intel 8080 CPU]], and Gates and Allen saw the opportunity to start their own computer software company.{{sfn|Gates|1996|p=18}} Gates dropped out of Harvard that same year. His parents were supportive of him after seeing how much he wanted to start his own company.{{sfn|Gates|1996|p=19}} He explained his decision to leave Harvard: "If things hadn't worked out, I could always go back to school. I was officially on leave."<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ4G1RtoKyI&t=53 The History of Microsoft – 1976] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211023447/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ4G1RtoKyI&t=53 |date=February 11, 2017 }}: Bill Gates explaining that his departure from Harvard was reversible if Microsoft had failed.</ref>

== Microsoft ==
{{Further|History of Microsoft|Microsoft#History}}

=== BASIC ===
[[File:Altair 8800 Computer.jpg|thumb|A MITS [[Altair 8800]] Computer with {{Convert |8|in|mm|adj=on}} floppy disk system, whose first programming language was Microsoft's founding product, [[Altair BASIC]]]]
Gates read the January 1975 issue of ''[[Popular Electronics]],'' which demonstrated the [[Altair 8800]], and contacted [[Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems]] (MITS) to inform them that he and others were working on a [[BASIC]] interpreter for the platform.<ref name="keyevents">{{cite web|title=Microsoft Visitor Center Student Information: Key Events in Microsoft History |url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/3/0/130dd86a-a196-4700-b577-521c4cf5cec1/key_events_in_microsoft_history.doc |publisher=Microsoft |format=.DOC |access-date=February 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226224212/http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/3/0/130dd86a-a196-4700-b577-521c4cf5cec1/key_events_in_microsoft_history.doc |archive-date=February 26, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In reality, Gates and Allen did not have an Altair and had not written code for it; they merely wanted to gauge MITS's interest. MITS president [[Ed Roberts (computers)|Ed Roberts]] agreed to meet them for a demonstration, and over the course of a few weeks, they developed an Altair [[emulator]] that ran on a minicomputer and then the BASIC interpreter.<ref name="thocp1"/>

The demonstration was held at MITS's offices in [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]]. It was a success and resulted in a deal with MITS to distribute the interpreter as [[Altair BASIC]]. MITS hired Allen,<ref name="thocp1">{{cite web|title=Microsoft history |publisher=The History of Computing Project |url=http://www.thocp.net/companies/microsoft/microsoft_company.htm |access-date=March 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514211138/http://www.thocp.net/companies/microsoft/microsoft_company.htm |archive-date=May 14, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Gates took a leave of absence from Harvard to work with him at MITS in November 1975. Allen named their partnership "Micro-Soft", a combination of "microcomputer" and "software". Their first office was in Albuquerque. The first employee Gates and Allen hired was their high school collaborator [[Ric Weiland]].<ref name="thocp1" /> They dropped the hyphen within a year and officially registered the trade name "[[Microsoft]]" with the Secretary of the State of New Mexico on November 26, 1976.<ref name="thocp1" /> Gates never returned to Harvard to complete his studies.

Microsoft's Altair BASIC was popular with computer hobbyists, but Gates discovered that a pre-market copy had leaked out and was being widely copied and distributed. In February 1976, he wrote [[An Open Letter to Hobbyists]] in the MITS newsletter in which he asserted that more than 90% of the users of Microsoft Altair BASIC had not paid Microsoft for it, and the Altair "hobby market" was in danger of eliminating the incentive for any professional developers to produce, distribute, and maintain high-quality software.{{Sfn |Manes|1994|p=81}} This letter was unpopular with many computer hobbyists, but Gates persisted in his belief that software developers should be able to demand payment. Microsoft became independent of MITS in late 1976, and it continued to develop programming language software for various systems.<ref name="thocp1" /> The company moved from Albuquerque to [[Bellevue, Washington]], on January 1, 1979.<ref name="keyevents" />

Gates said he personally reviewed and often rewrote every line of code that the company produced in its first five years. As the company grew, he transitioned into a manager role, then an executive.<ref name="waterloo">{{cite speech|url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/speeches/2005/10-13Waterloo.aspx |last=Gates |first=William 'Bill' |title=Remarks |date=October 13, 2005 |location=Waterloo, ON |access-date=March 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406130809/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/speeches/2005/10-13Waterloo.aspx |archive-date=April 6, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== IBM partnership ===
[[IBM]], the leading supplier of computer equipment to commercial enterprises at the time, approached Microsoft in July 1980 concerning software for its upcoming personal computer, the [[IBM PC]],{{r |bunnell1982febmar}} after Gates's mother mentioned Microsoft to [[John Opel]], IBM's then [[CEO]].<ref name=mary-maxwell-gates-obit/> IBM first proposed that Microsoft write the BASIC interpreter. IBM's representatives also mentioned that they needed an operating system, and Gates referred them to [[Digital Research]] (DRI), makers of the widely used [[CP/M]] operating system.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2002/1223/258_print.html|title=Pioneers Die Broke|work=Forbes|first1=John Steele|last1=Gordon|first2=Michael|last2=Maiello|author-link1=John Steele Gordon|date=December 23, 2002|access-date=March 31, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061029221703/http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2002/1223/258_print.html|archive-date=October 29, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> IBM's discussions with Digital Research went poorly, and they did not reach a licensing agreement. IBM representative Jack Sams mentioned the licensing difficulties during a subsequent meeting with Gates and asked if Microsoft could provide an operating system. A few weeks later, Gates and Allen proposed using [[86-DOS]], an operating system similar to CP/M, that [[Tim Paterson]] of [[Seattle Computer Products]] (SCP) had made for hardware similar to the PC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.patersontech.com/dos/microsoft-micronews.aspx |title=Father of DOS |work=Paterson Technology |access-date=October 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906120441/http://www.patersontech.com/dos/microsoft-micronews.aspx |archive-date=September 6, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Microsoft made a deal with SCP to be the exclusive licensing agent of 86-DOS, and later the full owner. Microsoft employed Paterson to adapt the operating system for the PC<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.patersontech.com/dos/softalk.aspx |title=The Roots of DOS |work=Paterson Technology |access-date=October 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906120449/http://www.patersontech.com/dos/softalk.aspx |archive-date=September 6, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and delivered it to IBM as [[PC DOS]] for a one-time fee of $50,000.{{Sfn | Gates | 1996 | p = 54}}

The contract itself only earned Microsoft a relatively small fee. It was the prestige brought to Microsoft by IBM's adoption of its operating system that would be the origin of Microsoft's transformation from a small business to the leading software company in the world. Gates had not offered to transfer the copyright on the operating system to IBM because he believed that other personal computer makers would clone IBM's PC hardware.{{Sfn | Gates | 1996 | p = 54}} They did, making the IBM-compatible PC, running DOS, a de facto standard. The sales of [[MS-DOS]] (the version of DOS sold to customers other than IBM) made Microsoft a major player in the industry.{{Sfn |Manes|1994|p=193}} The press quickly identified Microsoft as being very influential on the IBM PC. ''[[PC Magazine]]'' asked if Gates was "the man behind the machine?".<ref name="bunnell1982febmar">{{cite news | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&pg=PA16 | title = The Man Behind The Machine? | type = interview | work = [[PC Magazine]] | date = Feb–Mar 1982 | access-date = February 17, 2012 | last = Bunnell | first = David | page = 16 | url-status=live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130509162040/http://books.google.com/books?id=w_OhaFDePS4C&lpg=RA2-PA18&pg=PA16 | archive-date = May 9, 2013 }}</ref>

Gates oversaw Microsoft's company restructuring on June 25, 1981, which re-incorporated the company in Washington state and made Gates the president and chairman of the board, with Paul Allen as vice president and vice chairman. In early 1983, Allen left the company after receiving a [[Hodgkin lymphoma]] diagnosis, effectively ending the formal business partnership between Gates and Allen, which had been strained months prior due to a contentious dispute over Microsoft equity.<ref name="keyevents" /><ref name="before microsoft">{{cite magazine |first=Paul |last=Allen |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/05/paul-allen-201105 |title=Microsoft's Odd Couple |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=May 2011 |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200103050532/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/05/paul-allen-201105 |url-status=live }}</ref> Later in the decade, Gates repaired his relationship with Allen, and together the two donated millions to their childhood school, Lakeside.<ref name="leibovich20001231" /> They remained friends until Allen's death in October 2018.<ref name="Gates Mourns Allen">{{Cite news |url=https://fortune.com/2018/10/16/bill-gates-paul-allen-death-microsoft/ |title=Bill Gates Mourns His Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen: 'Personal Computing Would Not Have Existed Without Him' |last=Detrick |first=Hallie |date=October 16, 2018 |work=Fortune |access-date=November 11, 2019 |archive-date=November 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112002045/https://fortune.com/2018/10/16/bill-gates-paul-allen-death-microsoft/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Windows ===
[[File:Bill Gates with Tandy 2000 running Windows 1.0 (1984).jpg|thumb|alt=Bill Gates next to a Tandy 2000 running a development version of Windows 1.0, 1984|Bill Gates next to a [[Tandy 2000]] running a development version of Windows 1.0, 1984]]
Microsoft and Gates launched their first retail version of [[Microsoft Windows]] on November 20, 1985, in an attempt to fend off competition from [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s [[classic Mac OS|Macintosh]] [[GUI]], which had captivated consumers with its simplicity and ease of use.<ref name="ahmwbi">{{cite news |last1=Hartmans |first1=Avery |last2=Weinberger |first2=Matt |title=A history of the decades-long feud between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, whose love-hate relationship spurred the success of Microsoft and Apple |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-bill-gates-steve-jobs-feud-frenemies-2016-3 |agency=Business Insider |publisher=Insider Inc. |date=April 1, 2021 |access-date=April 15, 2021 |archive-date=March 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310142721/https://www.businessinsider.com/the-bill-gates-steve-jobs-feud-frenemies-2016-3 |url-status=live }}</ref> In August 1986, the company struck a deal with [[IBM]] to develop a separate operating system called [[OS/2]]. Although the two companies successfully developed the first version of the new system, the partnership deteriorated due to mounting creative differences.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://groklaw.net/pdf/iowa/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/0000/PX00738.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130812161223/http://groklaw.net/pdf/iowa/www.iowaconsumercase.org/011607/0000/PX00738.pdf |archive-date=August 12, 2013 |url-status=usurped |title=Challenges and Strategy |work=Groklaw |access-date=November 17, 2011}}</ref> The operating system [[Windows 9x#Windows prior to 95|grew out of DOS]] in an organic fashion over a decade until [[Windows 95]], which hid the DOS prompt by default. [[Windows XP]] was released one year after Gates stepped down as Microsoft CEO.<ref name=cnettop>{{cite web | url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/top-10-things-you-must-know-about-win-xp/ | title=The 10 top things you MUST know about Win XP | publisher=[[CNET Networks]] | work=[[ZDNet]] | date=October 25, 2001 | access-date=July 22, 2008 | first=David | last=Coursey | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208055856/http://www.zdnet.com/article/top-10-things-you-must-know-about-win-xp/ | archive-date=December 8, 2015 }}</ref> [[Windows 8.1]] was the last version of the OS released before Gates left the chair of the firm to [[John W. Thompson]] on February 5, 2014.<ref name=chairex>{{Cite web |last1=David |first1=Javier E |title=Nadella named new Microsoft CEO as Gates era ends |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/business/microsoft-names-satya-nadella-ceo-2D12054182 |website=[[NBCNews.com]] |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140205010025/https://www.nbcnews.com/business/microsoft-names-satya-nadella-ceo-2D12054182 |archive-date=February 5, 2014 |date=February 5, 2014}}</ref>

=== Management style ===

During Microsoft's early years, Gates was an active software developer, particularly in the company's programming language products, but his primary role in most of the company's history was as a manager and executive. He has not officially been on a development team since working on the [[TRS-80 Model 100]],<ref name="allison1993">{{cite interview | last=Gates | first=Bill | subject-link=Bill Gates | interviewer=David Allison | url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/comphist/gates.htm | title=Bill Gates Interview | work=Transcript of a Video History Interview / Computer History Collection | publisher=National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution | access-date=April 10, 2013 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402195548/http://americanhistory.si.edu/comphist/gates.htm | archive-date=April 2, 2013 }}</ref> but he wrote code that shipped with the company's products as late as 1989.<ref name="pdc97">{{cite speech |url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/speeches/1997/pdc.aspx |first=Bill |last=Gates |title=Remarks by Bill Gates |location=San Diego |date=September 26, 1997 |access-date=March 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420152409/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/speeches/1997/pdc.aspx |archive-date=April 20, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 

[[Jerry Pournelle]] wrote in 1985 when Gates announced [[Microsoft Excel]]: "Bill Gates likes the program, not because it's going to make him a lot of money (although I'm sure it will do that), but because it's a neat [[hack (programmer subculture)|hack]]."<ref name="pournelle198509">{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1985-09/1985_09_BYTE_10-09_Homebrewing#page/n329/mode/2up | title=PCs, Peripherals, Programs, and People | work=[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]] | date=September 1985 | access-date=March 20, 2016 | author=Pournelle, Jerry | page=347}}</ref> During the late 1990s, he was [[Criticism of Microsoft|criticized for his business tactics]], which were considered [[anti-competitive]]. This opinion has been upheld by numerous court rulings.{{Sfnm|1a1=Lesinski|1y=2006|1p=96|2a1=Manes|2y=1994|2p=459}}

In June 2006, Gates announced that he would transition out of his role at Microsoft to dedicate more time to philanthropy. He gradually divided his responsibilities between two successors when he placed [[Ray Ozzie]] in charge of management and [[Craig Mundie]] in charge of long-term product strategy.<ref name="mscorpnews">{{cite news|url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jun06/06-15CorpNewsPR.mspx |title=Microsoft Announces Plans for July 2008 Transition for Bill Gates |publisher=Microsoft |date=June 15, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060619230935/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jun06/06-15CorpNewsPR.mspx |archive-date=June 19, 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The process took two years to fully transfer his duties to Ozzie and Mundie, and was completed on June 27, 2008.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bill Gates {{!}} Development of Information and Knowledge Management|url=https://www.tlu.ee/~sirvir/IKM/Development_of_IKM/bill_gates.html|website=tlu.ee|access-date=January 21, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126074023/http://www.tlu.ee/~sirvir/IKM/Development_of_IKM/bill_gates.html|archive-date=January 26, 2016}}</ref>

== Post-Microsoft ==

Since leaving day-to-day operations at Microsoft, Gates has continued his philanthropy and works on other projects. He stepped down as chairman of Microsoft in February 2014 to become a technology advisor at the firm to support newly appointed CEO [[Satya Nadella]].<ref name="The Verge">{{Cite news |last=Kastrenakes |first=Jacob  |date=4 February 2014 |title=Bill Gates steps down as chairman, will assist new CEO as 'technology advisor' |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/2/4/5377226/bill-gates-steps-down-microsoft-chairman-named-tech-advisor |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204224246/http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/4/5377226/bill-gates-steps-down-microsoft-chairman-named-tech-advisor |archive-date=February 4, 2014 |access-date=February 4, 2014 |work=The Verge}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25973762|title=Microsoft names Satya Nadella to replace Steve Ballmer|date=February 4, 2014|work=BBC News|access-date=February 4, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204181408/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25973762|archive-date=February 4, 2014}}</ref>

Gates provided his perspective on a range of issues in an interview that was published in the March 2014 issue of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine. In the interview, he provided his perspective on climate change, his charitable activities, various tech companies and people involved in them, and the state of America. In response to a question about his greatest fear when he looks 50 years into the future, Gates stated: "there'll be some really bad things that'll happen in the next 50 or 100 years, but hopefully none of them on the scale of, say, a million people that you didn't expect to die from a [[pandemic]], or [[Nuclear weapon|nuclear]] or [[bioterrorism]]." Gates also identified innovation as the "real driver of progress" and pronounced that "America's way better today than it's ever been."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Bill Gates: The Rolling Stone Interview|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/bill-gates-the-rolling-stone-interview-20140313?print=true|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=March 28, 2014|first=Jeff|last=Goodell|date=March 13, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317071201/http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/bill-gates-the-rolling-stone-interview-20140313?print=true|archive-date=March 17, 2014}}</ref> Gates has often expressed concern about the potential harms of [[superintelligence]]; in a [[Reddit]] "ask me anything", he stated that:

{{blockquote|First the machines will do a lot of jobs for us and not be super intelligent. That should be positive if we manage it well. A few decades after that though the intelligence is strong enough to be a concern. I agree with [[Elon Musk]] and some others on this and don't understand why some people are not concerned.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2015/01/28/bill-gates-also-worries-artificial-intelligence-is-a-threat/|date=January 28, 2015|title=Bill Gates Says You Should Worry About Artificial Intelligence|first=Eric|last=Mack|magazine=Forbes|access-date=February 19, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219122941/http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2015/01/28/bill-gates-also-worries-artificial-intelligence-is-a-threat/|archive-date=February 19, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/01/28/Bill-Gates-Worried-About-Rise-Machines|title=Bill Gates Is Worried About the Rise of the Machines|work=[[The Fiscal Times]]|access-date=February 19, 2015|first=Andrew|last=Lumby|date=January 28, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219122609/http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2015/01/28/Bill-Gates-Worried-About-Rise-Machines|archive-date=February 19, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/03/24/apple-co-founder-on-artificial-intelligence-the-future-is-scary-and-very-bad-for-people/|title=Apple co-founder on artificial intelligence: 'The future is scary and very bad for people'|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Peter|last=Holley|date=March 24, 2015|access-date=April 8, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417053459/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/03/24/apple-co-founder-on-artificial-intelligence-the-future-is-scary-and-very-bad-for-people/|archive-date=April 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Permalink to an answer from "Hi Reddit, I'm Bill Gates and I'm back for my third AMA. Ask me anything. • /r/IAmA"|date = January 28, 2015|url = https://np.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2tzjp7/hi_reddit_im_bill_gates_and_im_back_for_my_third/co3r3g8|publisher = reddit|access-date = June 10, 2015|archive-date = December 31, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151231203711/https://np.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/2tzjp7/hi_reddit_im_bill_gates_and_im_back_for_my_third/co3r3g8|url-status = live}}</ref>}}

[[File:Bill Gates - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2008.jpg|thumb|280x280px|Gates delivers a speech at the [[World Economic Forum]] in Switzerland, January 2008.]]

In an interview that was held at the [[TED (conference)|TED conference]] in March 2015, with [[Baidu]] co-founder and CEO, [[Robin Li]], Gates said he would "highly recommend" [[Nick Bostrom]]'s recent work, ''[[Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG0ZjUfOBUs&t=17m35s |title=Baidu CEO Robin Li interviews Bill Gates and Elon Musk at the Boao Forum, March 29, 2015 |date=March 31, 2015 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=April 8, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501122327/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG0ZjUfOBUs&t=17m35s |archive-date=May 1, 2015 }}</ref> During the conference, Gates warned that the world was not prepared for the next pandemic, a situation that would come to pass in late 2019 when the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] began.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gates |first=Bill |title=The next outbreak? We're not ready |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready |access-date=June 8, 2020 |website=TED |date=April 3, 2015 |language=en |archive-date=February 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200207081541/https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2018, Gates met at his home in Seattle with [[Mohammed bin Salman]], the crown prince and de facto ruler of [[Saudi Arabia]], to discuss investment opportunities for [[Saudi Vision 2030]].<ref>(March 31, 2018), [http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/03/31/Saudi-Crown-Prince-and-Bill-Gates-review-cooperation-on-joint-development-projects-.html "Saudi Crown Prince and Bill Gates review joint development projects"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202122153/https://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/gulf/2018/03/31/Saudi-Crown-Prince-and-Bill-Gates-review-cooperation-on-joint-development-projects-.html |date=December 2, 2020 }} ''[[Al Arabiya]]''</ref><ref>Michael Idato (April 4, 2018), [https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/1-billion-and-one-arabian-nights-prince-mohammed-dines-with-murdoch-20180404-p4z7mp.html "Prince Mohammed books out hotel to dine with Murdoch"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523172943/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/1-billion-and-one-arabian-nights-prince-mohammed-dines-with-murdoch-20180404-p4z7mp.html |date=May 23, 2018 }} ''The Sydney Morning Herald''</ref> In June 2019, Gates admitted that losing the [[mobile operating system]] race to [[Android (operating system)|Android]] was his biggest mistake. He stated that it was within their [[skill set]] of be the dominant player, but partially blames the [[antitrust case|antitrust]] litigation during that time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/24/bill-gates-says-his-biggest-mistake-was-not-beating-google-on-android.html|title=Bill Gates reveals his 'greatest mistake' that potentially cost Microsoft $400 billion|last=Scipioni|first=Jade|date=June 24, 2019|website=CNBC|language=en|access-date=December 22, 2019|archive-date=June 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624191149/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/24/bill-gates-says-his-biggest-mistake-was-not-beating-google-on-android.html|url-status=live}}</ref> That same year, Gates became an advisory board member of the [[Bloomberg L.P.#Bloomberg New Economy Forum|Bloomberg New Economy Forum]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bloombergneweconomy.com/nef2022/leadership/|title=Leadership|website=Bloomberg New Economy|access-date=September 30, 2023|archive-date=October 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221005162816/https://www.bloombergneweconomy.com/nef2022/leadership/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2020, Microsoft announced Gates would be leaving his board positions at Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft to dedicate himself to philanthropic endeavors such as climate change, global health and development, and education.<ref>{{cite news |last=Haselton |first=Todd |date=March 13, 2020 |title=Bill Gates leaves Microsoft board|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/bill-gates-leaves-microsoft-board.html|work=CNBC|access-date=March 13, 2020|archive-date=March 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313211606/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/bill-gates-leaves-microsoft-board.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported in May 2021 that Gates stepped down before Microsoft's board finished its investigation into Gates's alleged inappropriate sexual relationship with a Microsoft employee, which an external law firm had begun probing in late 2019.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Glazer |first1=Emily |last2=Baer |first2=Justin |last3=Safdar |first3=Khadeeja |last4=Tilley |first4=Aaron |date=May 16, 2021 |title=Bill Gates Left Microsoft Board Amid Probe Into Prior Relationship With Staffer |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-directors-decided-bill-gates-needed-to-leave-board-due-to-prior-relationship-with-staffer-11621205803 |work=The Wall Street Journal |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251024092408/https://www.wsj.com/articles/microsoft-directors-decided-bill-gates-needed-to-leave-board-due-to-prior-relationship-with-staffer-11621205803 |archive-date=October 24, 2025 |url-status=live |access-date=May 1, 2024 }}</ref>

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Gates has been looked at by media outlets as an expert on the issue, despite not being a [[Official|public official]] or having any prior [[Medical education|medical training]].<ref name="Schwab-2020">{{Cite web|last=Schwab|first=Tim|date=August 21, 2020|title=Journalism's Gates keepers|url=https://www.cjr.org/criticism/gates-foundation-journalism-funding.php|access-date=April 5, 2021|website=Columbia Journalism Review|language=en|archive-date=August 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821151348/https://www.cjr.org/criticism/gates-foundation-journalism-funding.php|url-status=live}}</ref> His foundation did, however, establish the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator in 2020 to hasten the development and evaluation of new and repurposed drugs and biologics to treat patients for [[COVID-19]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/gates-foundation-commits-100-million-to-coronavirus-response/ |title=Gates Foundation Commits $100 Million to Speeding Up Coronavirus Treatments and Response |date=March 10, 2020 |website=Good News Network |language=en-US |access-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-date=March 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311031639/https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/gates-foundation-commits-100-million-to-coronavirus-response/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and, as of February 2021, Gates expressed that he and [[Anthony Fauci]] frequently talk and collaborate on matters including vaccines and other medical innovations to fight the pandemic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/11/bill-gates-and-dr-anthony-fauci-talk-regularly-about-covid-pandemic.html|title=Bill Gates and Dr. Fauci talk regularly — here's what they're discussing now|date=February 11, 2021|website=CNBC.com|access-date=May 3, 2021|archive-date=February 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211211509/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/11/bill-gates-and-dr-anthony-fauci-talk-regularly-about-covid-pandemic.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Business ventures and investments ''(partial list)''===
Gates has a multi-billion dollar investment portfolio with stakes in companies in multiple sectors and has participated in several entrepreneurial ventures beyond Microsoft, including:

[[File:Foreign Secretary David Cameron attends COP28 (53376969086).jpg|thumb|Gates and UK Foreign Secretary [[David Cameron]] at [[2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference|COP28]] in Dubai on December 1, 2023]]

* [[AutoNation]], an automotive retailer which trades on the [[NYSE]] and in which Gates has a 16% stake.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.barrons.com/articles/bill-gates-cuts-stake-in-autonation-stock-51633732894|title= Bill Gates Cuts His Stake in AutoNation Stock|work= [[Barron's (newspaper)|Barron's]]|date= October 9, 2021|access-date= January 14, 2023|archive-date= January 14, 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230114162407/https://www.barrons.com/articles/bill-gates-cuts-stake-in-autonation-stock-51633732894|url-status= live}}</ref>
* [[bgC3]] LLC, a think-tank and research company founded by Gates.<ref>{{cite news | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2008/10/22/22readwriteweb-bill_gates_new_company.html | title=Bill Gates Has Started a New Company, bgC3 | author=Marshall Kirpatric | date=October 22, 2008 | access-date=February 25, 2022 | archive-date=October 28, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028031415/http://www.nytimes.com/external/readwriteweb/2008/10/22/22readwriteweb-bill_gates_new_company.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Canadian National Railway|Canadian National Railway (CN)]], a Canadian [[Class I railroad|Class I freight railway]]. As of 2019, Gates is the single largest shareholder of the company.<ref name="CBC">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bill-gates-now-biggest-cn-shareholder-1.1036661|title=Bill Gates now biggest CN shareholder (CA;CNR)|date=April 25, 2011|work=[[CBC News]]|access-date=November 17, 2019|archive-date=April 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427083311/http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2011/04/25/gates-cn-railway-shareholder.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Cascade Investment]] LLC, a private investment and holding company incorporated in the United States, founded and controlled by Gates and headquartered in [[Kirkland, Washington]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.swfinstitute.org/profile/598cdaa50124e9fd2d05ab95 | title=Cascade Investment (Bill and Melinda Gates Investments (BMGI)) – Family Office, United States – SWFI | access-date=September 19, 2022 | archive-date=June 29, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629054039/https://www.swfinstitute.org/profile/598cdaa50124e9fd2d05ab95 | url-status=live }}</ref>
**Gates is the largest private owner of farmland in the United States with his landholdings owned through Cascade Investment totalling 242,000 acres across 19 states.<ref name=bglr>{{Cite web|date=January 11, 2021|title=Bill Gates: America's Top Farmland Owner {{!}} The Land Report|url=https://landreport.com/2021/01/bill-gates-americas-top-farmland-owner/|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=landreport.com|language=en-US|archive-date=January 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111201357/https://landreport.com/2021/01/bill-gates-americas-top-farmland-owner/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=nebg>{{Cite web|date=April 5, 2021|title=Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Why? {{!}} Nick Estes|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/05/bill-gates-climate-crisis-farmland|access-date=April 5, 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=April 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405125147/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/05/bill-gates-climate-crisis-farmland|url-status=live}}</ref> He is the 49th largest private owner of land in the US.<ref name=hwbg>{{Cite web|last=Weinberger|first=Hannah|title=Bill Gates is investing big in American farmland {{!}} Crosscut|url=https://crosscut.com/environment/2021/02/bill-gates-investing-big-american-farmland|access-date=February 11, 2021|website=crosscut.com|date=February 10, 2021 |language=en|archive-date=February 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210210133716/https://crosscut.com/environment/2021/02/bill-gates-investing-big-american-farmland|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Carbon Engineering]], a for-profit venture founded by [[David Keith (scientist)|David Keith]], which Gates helped fund.<ref name=thts>{{cite news|last1=Hamilton|first1=Tyler|title=Snatching CO2 back from the air|url=https://www.thestar.com/business/2015/10/08/snatching-co2-back-from-the-air.html|newspaper=The Toronto Star|date=October 8, 2015|access-date=November 6, 2015|archive-date=October 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029053918/http://www.thestar.com/business/2015/10/08/snatching-co2-back-from-the-air.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=aenyt>{{cite news|last1=Eisenberg|first1=Anne|title=Pulling Carbon Dioxide Out of Thin Air|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/business/pilot-plant-in-the-works-for-carbon-dioxide-cleansing.html|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 3, 2015|date=January 4, 2013|archive-date=January 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108103821/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/business/pilot-plant-in-the-works-for-carbon-dioxide-cleansing.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="guntherguardian">{{cite magazine|last1=Gunther|first1=Marc|title=The business of cooling the planet|url=http://fortune.com/2011/10/07/the-business-of-cooling-the-planet/|magazine=Fortune|access-date=April 18, 2021|archive-date=September 28, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928070805/https://fortune.com/2011/10/07/the-business-of-cooling-the-planet/|url-status=live}}</ref> It is also supported by [[Chevron Corporation]] and [[Occidental Petroleum]].<ref name="kbcnbc">{{cite news |last1=Brigham |first1=Katie |title=Bill Gates and Big Oil back this company that's trying to solve climate change by sucking CO2 out of the air |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/21/carbon-engineering-co2-capture-backed-by-bill-gates-oil-companies.html |publisher=CNBC LLC |date=June 22, 2019 |access-date=April 18, 2021 |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922203716/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/21/carbon-engineering-co2-capture-backed-by-bill-gates-oil-companies.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
** [[SCoPEx]], Keith's academic venture in "sun-dimming" [[geoengineering]], which Gates provided most of the $12 million for.<ref name="tollefson18">{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/d41586-018-07533-4|title=doi|year=2018|pmid=30479388|doi-access=free|last1=Tollefson|first1=J.|journal=Nature|volume=563|issue=7733|pages=613–615}}</ref>
* [[Branded Entertainment Network|Corbis]] (originally named Interactive Home Systems, then Corbis and now known as Branded Entertainment Network), a digital image licensing and rights services company founded and chaired by Gates. Corbis Images, its enormous photo image library, was sold to a Chinese firm in January 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Corbis Images Sold by Bill Gates to Visual China Group {{!}} PetaPixel|url=https://petapixel.com/2016/01/22/corbis-images-sold-by-bill-gates-to-china-visual-group/|access-date=June 6, 2021|website=petapixel.com|date=January 22, 2016|archive-date=January 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124040524/https://petapixel.com/2016/01/22/corbis-images-sold-by-bill-gates-to-china-visual-group/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[EarthNow]], a Seattle-based startup company aiming to blanket the Earth with live satellite video coverage. Gates is a large financial backer.<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 18, 2018|title=Bill Gates, Airbus and SoftBank invest in satellite video startup that wants to help us 'see and understand the Earth live and unfiltered'|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2018/earthnow-satellite-video-bill-gates/|access-date=May 25, 2021|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|archive-date=April 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180422105722/https://www.geekwire.com/2018/earthnow-satellite-video-bill-gates/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Eclipse Aviation]], a defunct manufacturer of [[very light jet]]s. Gates was a major stake-holder early on in the project.<ref name="Aviation.com15Jan08">{{cite web|url=http://www.aviation.com/business/080115-eclipse-aviation-investment.html |title=Eclipse Aviation Gets Foreign Investment |access-date=January 21, 2023 |last=Clark |first=Heather |date=January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517201528/http://www.aviation.com/business/080115-eclipse-aviation-investment.html |archive-date=May 17, 2008 }}</ref>
* [[Impossible Foods]], a company that develops [[Meat analogue|plant-based substitutes]] for meat products. Some of the $396 million [[Patrick O. Brown]] collected for his business came from Gates around 2014 to 2017.<ref name="kgcnbc">{{cite news |last1=Gilchrist |first1=Karen |title=How Impossible Burger's 'simple' vision won hundreds of millions in funding — and backing from Bill Gates |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/08/bill-gates-backed-impossible-burger-ceo-patrick-brown-on-fighting-meat.html |publisher=CNBC LLC |date=March 7, 2019 |access-date=April 18, 2021 |archive-date=September 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922203716/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/08/bill-gates-backed-impossible-burger-ceo-patrick-brown-on-fighting-meat.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ssnyt">{{cite news |last1=Strom |first1=Stephanie |title=Impossible Burger's 'Secret Sauce' Highlights Challenges of Food Tech |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/business/impossible-burger-food-meat.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808105847/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/08/business/impossible-burger-food-meat.html |archive-date=August 8, 2017 |url-access=limited |work=The New York Times |date=August 8, 2017}}</ref><ref name="bmbh">{{cite news |title=Beyond the Headlines: A Clarification Regarding Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods |url=https://www.beyondmeat.com/whats-new/beyond-the-headlines-a-clarification-regarding-beyond-meat-and-impossible-foods/ |publisher=Beyond Meat |date=August 15, 2017 |access-date=April 18, 2021 |archive-date=December 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207192716/https://www.beyondmeat.com/whats-new/beyond-the-headlines-a-clarification-regarding-beyond-meat-and-impossible-foods/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Ecolab]], a global provider of water, hygiene and energy technologies and services to the food, energy, healthcare, industrial and hospitality markets. Combined with the shares owned by the Foundation, Gates owns 11.6% of the company. A shareholder agreement in 2012 allowed him to own up to 25% of the company, but this agreement was removed.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tribune|first=Patrick Kennedy Star|title=Bill Gates' investment firm increases its ownership in Ecolab|url=https://www.startribune.com/bill-gates-investment-firm-ups-its-ownership-in-ecolab/476699613/|access-date=October 5, 2021|website=Star Tribune|archive-date=March 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313202924/https://www.startribune.com/bill-gates-investment-firm-ups-its-ownership-in-ecolab/476699613/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[ResearchGate]], a social networking site for scientists. Gates participated in a $35&nbsp;million round of financing along with other investors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-04/bill-gates-joins-35-million-investment-in-startup-researchgate.html |title=Bill Gates Joins $35 Million Funding in Startup ResearchGate |publisher=Bloomberg |last=Levy |first=Jared Ari |date=June 4, 2013 |access-date=January 28, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109223625/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-04/bill-gates-joins-35-million-investment-in-startup-researchgate.html |archive-date=January 9, 2015 }}</ref>
* [[TerraPower]], a nuclear reactor design company co-founded and chaired by Gates, which is developing next generation [[Traveling wave reactor|traveling-wave reactor]] [[nuclear power plant]]s in an effort to tackle [[climate change]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bill Gates Talks About the Potential of Nuclear Innovation on '60 Minutes'|url=https://www.nei.org/news/2021/bill-gates-nuclear-innovation-60-minutes|access-date=April 21, 2021|website=Nuclear Energy Institute|date=February 17, 2021|archive-date=February 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210217234537/https://www.nei.org/news/2021/bill-gates-nuclear-innovation-60-minutes|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Clifford|first=Catherine|date=April 8, 2021|title=How Bill Gates' company TerraPower is building next-generation nuclear power|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/08/bill-gates-terrapower-is-building-next-generation-nuclear-power.html|access-date=April 20, 2021|website=CNBC|language=en|archive-date=April 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408173250/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/08/bill-gates-terrapower-is-building-next-generation-nuclear-power.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Carpenter|first=Scott|title=Bill Gates' Nuclear Startup Unveils Mini-Reactor Design Including Molten Salt Energy Storage|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2020/08/31/bill-gates-nuclear-firm-says-new-reactor-can-backstop-grid-with-molten-salt-storage/|access-date=April 20, 2021|website=Forbes|language=en|archive-date=September 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901150204/https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2020/08/31/bill-gates-nuclear-firm-says-new-reactor-can-backstop-grid-with-molten-salt-storage/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Mufson|first=Steven|title=Bill Gates comes to Washington — selling the promise of nuclear energy|language=en-US|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/bill-gates-comes-to-washington--selling-the-promise-of-nuclear-energy/2019/01/25/4bd9c030-1445-11e9-b6ad-9cfd62dbb0a8_story.html|access-date=April 22, 2021|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=February 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221182744/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/bill-gates-comes-to-washington--selling-the-promise-of-nuclear-energy/2019/01/25/4bd9c030-1445-11e9-b6ad-9cfd62dbb0a8_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gardner|first=Timothy|date=August 28, 2020|title=Bill Gates' nuclear venture plans reactor to complement solar, wind power boom|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclearpower-terrapower-idUSKBN25N2U8|access-date=April 22, 2021|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422212144/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-nuclearpower-terrapower-idUSKBN25N2U8|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Breakthrough Energy Ventures]], a closed fund for wealthy individuals who seek [[Return on investment|ROI]] on a 20-year horizon (see [[#Climate change and energy|next section]]), which "is funding green start-ups and a host of other low-carbon entrepreneurial projects, including everything from advanced [[nuclear technology]] to synthetic [[breast milk]]". It was founded by Gates in 2015.<ref name="katnr">{{cite news |last1=Aronoff |first1=Kate |title=The Dark Side of Bill Gates's Climate Techno-Optimism |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/161533/bill-gates-climate-vaccines |publisher=The New Republic |date=March 3, 2021 |access-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-date=April 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420171012/https://newrepublic.com/article/161533/bill-gates-climate-vaccines |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Ginkgo Bioworks]], a [[Biotechnology|biotech]] startup that received $350 million in venture funding in 2019, in part from Gates's investment firm Cascade Investment.<ref name="Reuters 2019-10-09">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ginkgobio-fundraising-idUSKBN1WO1U9 |title=Ginkgo Bioworks raises $350 million fund for biotech spinouts |work=Reuters |date=October 9, 2019 |access-date=April 27, 2021 |archive-date=April 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427133901/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ginkgobio-fundraising-idUSKBN1WO1U9 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Luminous Computing, a company that develops [[neuromorphic]] [[photonic integrated circuits]] for [[AI]] acceleration.
* Mologic, a British diagnostic technology company that Gates purchased, along with the [[Soros Economic Development Fund]], "which has developed 10-minute Covid [[lateral flow test]]s that it aims to make for as little as $1".<ref name="mfdt">{{cite news |last1=Field |first1=Matthew |title=Bill Gates and George Soros join buyout of UK Covid testing company |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/07/18/bill-gates-soros-join-buyout-uk-covid-testing-company/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/07/18/bill-gates-soros-join-buyout-uk-covid-testing-company/ |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |work=The Telegraph|date=July 18, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Climate change and energy ==
[[File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meeting with Mr. Bill Gates, in Glasgow, Scotland on November 02, 2021 (2).jpg|thumb|With Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]] at the [[2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference|COP26 climate summit]] in Glasgow in November 2021]]

Gates considers [[climate change]] and [[Energy access|global access to energy]] to be critical, interrelated issues. He has urged governments and the private sector to invest in research and development to make clean, reliable energy cheaper. Gates envisions that a breakthrough innovation in [[sustainable energy]] technology could drive down both greenhouse gas emissions and poverty, and bring economic benefits by stabilizing energy prices.<ref name="Wattles-2015">{{Cite web|last=Wattles|first=Jackie|date=November 11, 2015|title=Bill Gates launches multi-billion dollar clean energy fund|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/11/29/news/economy/bill-gates-breakthrough-energy-coalition/index.html|access-date=December 12, 2020|website=CNN Money|archive-date=December 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151201072730/https://money.cnn.com/2015/11/29/news/economy/bill-gates-breakthrough-energy-coalition/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2011, he said, "If you gave me the choice between picking the next 10 presidents or ensuring that energy is environmentally friendly and a quarter as costly, I'd pick the energy thing."<ref name="Wired 2011">{{cite magazine | title=Q&A: Bill Gates on the World's Energy Crisis | issue=7 | magazine=Wired | volume=19 | date=June 20, 2011 | url=https://www.wired.com/2011/06/mf-qagates/ | access-date=October 2, 2019 | archive-date=May 17, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517044326/https://www.wired.com/2011/06/mf-qagates/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2015, he wrote about the challenge of transitioning the world's energy system from one based primarily on fossil fuels to one based on sustainable energy sources. Global [[energy transitions]] have historically taken decades. He wrote, "I believe we can make this transition faster, both because the pace of innovation is accelerating, and because we have never had such an urgent reason to move from one source of energy to another."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gates|first=Bill|date=November 30, 2015|title=Energy Innovation: Why We Need It and How to Get It|url=https://media.gatesnotes.com/-/media/Files/Energy/Energy_Innovation_Nov_30_2015|access-date=December 12, 2020|website=Gates Notes|archive-date=June 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605035151/https://media.gatesnotes.com/-/media/Files/Energy/Energy_Innovation_Nov_30_2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> This rapid transition, according to Gates, would depend on increased government funding for basic research and financially risky private-sector investment, to enable innovation in diverse areas such as [[Nuclear power|nuclear energy]], [[grid energy storage]] to facilitate greater use of solar and wind energy, and [[solar fuels]].<ref name="Thornhill-2015">{{Cite web|last1=Thornhill|first1=John|last2=Adams|first2=Christopher|date=June 25, 2015|title=Gates to double investment in renewable energy projects|url=https://www.ft.com/content/4f66ff5c-1a47-11e5-a130-2e7db721f996 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/4f66ff5c-1a47-11e5-a130-2e7db721f996 |archive-date=December 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=December 12, 2020|website=[[Financial Times]]|language=en-GB}}</ref>

[[File:Ursula von der Leyen attends the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (41).jpg|thumb|The [[European Commission]], [[European Investment Bank]] and Gates' [[Breakthrough Energy|Breakthrough Energy Catalyst]] agreed at the 2021 [[United Nations Climate Change conference|UN Climate Change conference]] to work together to bring green technologies to market.]]

Gates spearheaded two initiatives that he announced at the [[2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference]] in Paris. One was [[Mission Innovation]], in which 20 national governments pledged to double their spending on research and development for carbon-free energy in over five years' time.<ref name="Wattles-2015" /> Another initiative was [[Breakthrough Energy]], a group of investors who agreed to fund high-risk startups in clean energy technologies. Gates, who had already invested $1 billion of his own money in innovative energy startups, committed a further $1 billion to Breakthrough Energy.<ref name="Thornhill-2015" /> In December 2020, he called for the U.S. federal government to create institutes for clean energy research, analogous to the [[National Institutes of Health]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Schlosser|first=Kurt|date=December 3, 2020|title=Bill Gates calls for creation of National Institutes of Energy Innovation to better address climate change|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2020/bill-gates-calls-creation-national-institutes-energy-innovation-better-address-climate-change/|access-date=December 12, 2020|website=GeekWire|language=en-US|archive-date=December 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203181752/https://www.geekwire.com/2020/bill-gates-calls-creation-national-institutes-energy-innovation-better-address-climate-change/|url-status=live}}</ref> Gates has also urged rich nations to shift to 100% [[synthetic beef]] industries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from food production.<ref name="vlredef">{{cite news|last1=Listek|first1=Vanesa|date=February 19, 2021|title=Redefine Meat Raises $29M to Grow its 3D Printed Alt-Meat Portfolio|publisher=3DR HOLDINGS|agency=3D Print|url=https://3dprint.com/279211/redefine-meat-raises-29m-to-grow-its-3d-printed-alt-meat-portfolio/|access-date=April 14, 2021|archive-date=September 23, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923133453/https://3dprint.com/279211/redefine-meat-raises-29m-to-grow-its-3d-printed-alt-meat-portfolio/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gates has been criticized for holding a large stake in [[Signature Aviation]], a company that services emissions-intensive private jets.<ref>{{Cite web|date=January 9, 2021|title=Bill Gates joins Blackstone in bid to buy British private jet services firm|url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/09/bill-gates-joins-blackstone-in-bid-to-buy-british-private-jet-firm|access-date=February 2, 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=January 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109080308/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jan/09/bill-gates-joins-blackstone-in-bid-to-buy-british-private-jet-firm|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, he began to [[Fossil fuel divestment|divest from fossil fuels]]. He does not expect divestment itself to have much practical impact, but says that if his efforts to provide alternatives were to fail, he would not want to personally benefit from an increase in fossil fuel stock prices.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 15, 2021|title=Bill Gates shows how hard it can be to divest from fossil fuel|url=http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/bill-gates-shows-how-hard-it-can-be-divest-fossil-fuel|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=The Edge Markets|archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216235842/https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/bill-gates-shows-how-hard-it-can-be-divest-fossil-fuel|url-status=dead}}</ref> After he published his book ''[[How to Avoid a Climate Disaster]]'', parts of the climate activist community criticized Gates's approach as [[technological solutionism]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reviewed: "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster" by Bill Gates, "The Ministry for the Future" by Kim Stanley Robinson, and "Under a White Sky" by Elizabeth Kolbert|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/16/1017832/gates-robinson-kolbert-review-climate-disaster-solutionism/|access-date=March 8, 2021|website=MIT Technology Review|language=en|archive-date=February 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210216141831/https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/02/16/1017832/gates-robinson-kolbert-review-climate-disaster-solutionism/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2022, educational streamer [[Wondrium]] produced the series "Solving for Zero: The Search for Climate Innovation", inspired by the book.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hirsh |first=Sophie |date=April 5, 2022 |title=Bill Gates' New Doc, 'Solving for Zero', Showcases Climate Change Solutions That Could Actually Work |url=https://www.greenmatters.com/p/solving-for-zero-documentary |access-date=April 14, 2023 |website=Green Matters |language=en-US |archive-date=April 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414184737/https://www.greenmatters.com/p/solving-for-zero-documentary |url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2021, Gates's company [[TerraPower]] and [[Warren Buffett]]'s [[PacifiCorp]] announced the first [[sodium]] nuclear reactor in [[Wyoming]]. Wyoming Governor [[Mark Gordon (politician)|Mike Gordon]] hailed the project as a step toward carbon-negative nuclear power. Wyoming Senator [[John Barrasso]] also said that it could boost the state's once-active uranium mining industry.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bill Gates' next generation nuclear reactor to be built in Wyoming |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1869531/world |access-date=June 3, 2021 |work=[[Arab News]] |agency=Reuters |date=June 3, 2021 |archive-date=June 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603031827/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1869531/world |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gates supported the passage of the [[Inflation Reduction Act of 2022]]. He tried to convince [[Joe Manchin]] to support a climate bill starting in 2019, and especially in the months leading up to the adoption of the bill. The bill aimed to cut the global greenhouse gas emissions to a level similar to "eliminating the annual planet-warming pollution of France and Germany combined" and may help to limit the warming of the planet to 1.5 degrees – the target of the [[Paris Agreement]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rathi |first1=Akshat |last2=A Dlouhy |first2=Jennifer |title=Bill Gates and the Secret Push to Save Biden's Climate Bill |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-08-16/how-bill-gates-lobbied-to-save-the-climate-tax-bill-biden-just-signed |access-date=September 19, 2022 |agency=Bloomberg |date=August 2022 |archive-date=August 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818142441/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-08-16/how-bill-gates-lobbied-to-save-the-climate-tax-bill-biden-just-signed |url-status=live }}</ref> He thanked both Joe Manchin and [[Chuck Schumer]] for their efforts in a guest essay in ''[[The New York Times]]'', where he said, "The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 may be the single most important piece of climate legislation in American history", given its potential to spur development of new technologies.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gates |first=Bill |date=August 5, 2022 |title=Opinion {{!}} Bill Gates: We're on the Verge of a Remarkable Moment for Congress and the Country |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/opinion/climate-inflation-congress.html |access-date=October 24, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=October 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024171841/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/opinion/climate-inflation-congress.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Gates gave further insights on climate change in his commencement address at [[Northern Arizona University]] on May 6, 2023, where he was bestowed an honorary doctorate.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Morimoto|first1=Tianna|title=Microsoft founder Bill Gates honored at Northern Arizona University graduation|url=https://www.azfamily.com/2023/05/14/microsoft-founder-bill-gates-honored-northern-arizona-university-graduation/|access-date=May 19, 2023|agency=Arizona's Family|date=May 2023|archive-date=May 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230519134053/https://www.azfamily.com/2023/05/14/microsoft-founder-bill-gates-honored-northern-arizona-university-graduation/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Political positions ==
In October 2024, ''The New York Times'' reported Gates had recently donated $50 million to [[Future Forward PAC|Future Forward USA Action]], a [[501(c) organization|501(c)(4)]] organization supporting [[Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign|Kamala Harris's 2024 presidential campaign]]. In response to the report, he did not explicitly address the donation or endorse Harris, but said "this election is different".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schleifer |first=Theodore |date=October 22, 2024 |title=Bill Gates Privately Says He Has Backed Harris With $50 Million Donation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/elections/bill-gates-future-forward-kamala-harris.html |access-date=October 22, 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

===Regulation of the software industry===
{{further|Bill Gates#Antitrust litigation|United States v. Microsoft Corp.{{!}}''United States v. Microsoft Corp.''}}

In 1998, Gates rejected the need for regulation of the software industry in testimony before the United States Senate.<ref name=mzyf /> During the [[Federal Trade Commission]]'s (FTC) investigation of Microsoft in the 1990s, Gates was reportedly upset at then Commissioner [[Dennis Yao]] for "float[ing] a line of hypothetical questions suggesting possible curbs on Microsoft's growing monopoly power".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Taylor |first=Stuart Jr. |date=November 1, 1993 |title=What To Do With The Microsoft Monster |url=https://www.stuarttaylorjr.com/content-what-do-microsoft-monster/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023010716/https://www.stuarttaylorjr.com/content-what-do-microsoft-monster/ |archive-date=October 23, 2020 |access-date=2021-09-11 |magazine=[[The American Lawyer]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Donald Trump Facebook ban ===
[[File:F20250904AH-2515 (54778599724).jpg|alt=Gates during a September 2025 dinner hosted by President Trump|thumb|Gates during a September 2025 dinner hosted by President Trump]]
After [[Facebook]] and [[Twitter]] had banned [[Donald Trump]] from their platforms on January 7, 2021, as a result of the [[2020 United States presidential election]] which led to the [[January 6 United States Capitol attack]], Gates said in February that a permanent ban of Trump "would be a shame" and would be an "extreme measure". He warned that it would cause "polarization" if users with different political views divide up among various social networks, and said: "I don't think banning somebody who actually did get a fair number of votes (in the presidential election) – well less than a majority – {{sic|hide=y|but I don't think having him off<!-- [[Double negative]]; doubt already expressed. -->}} forever would be that good."<ref name="mzyf">{{cite news |last1=Zahn |first1=Max |last2=Serwer |first2=Andy |date=February 18, 2021 |title=Bill Gates: Permanent Facebook ban of Trump would be 'a shame' |url=https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/bill-gates-permanent-facebook-ban-of-trump-would-be-a-shame-185859851.html |publisher=[[Yahoo! Finance]] |access-date=November 7, 2021 |archive-date=October 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016001946/https://ca.movies.yahoo.com/bill-gates-permanent-facebook-ban-of-trump-would-be-a-shame-185859851.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Patents for COVID-19 vaccines ===
{{Main|TRIPS Agreement waiver}}

In April 2021, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], Gates was criticized for suggesting that pharmaceutical companies should hold onto patents and intellectual property for [[COVID-19 vaccines]]. He opposed the [[TRIPS waiver]].<ref name="observer">{{cite news |last1=Cao |first1=Sissi |date=April 28, 2021 |title=Bill Gates' Comments On COVID-19 Vaccine Patent Draw Outrage |url=https://observer.com/2021/04/bill-gates-oppose-lifting-covid-vaccine-patent-interview/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102050002/https://observer.com/2021/04/bill-gates-oppose-lifting-covid-vaccine-patent-interview/ |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |access-date=January 2, 2022 |work=Observer}}</ref><ref name="apartheid">{{cite news |last1=Allison |first1=Simon |date=January 30, 2021 |title=Bill Gates, Big Pharma and entrenching the vaccine apartheid |url=https://mg.co.za/coronavirus-essentials/2021-01-30-bill-gates-big-pharma-and-entrenching-the-vaccine-apartheid/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102050004/https://mg.co.za/coronavirus-essentials/2021-01-30-bill-gates-big-pharma-and-entrenching-the-vaccine-apartheid/ |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |access-date=January 2, 2022 |work=The Mail & Guardian}}</ref><ref name="colonialism">{{cite news |last1=Mookim |first1=Mohit |date=May 19, 2021 |title=The World Loses Under Bill Gates' Vaccine Colonialism |url=https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-the-world-loses-under-bill-gates-vaccine-colonialism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224153605/https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-the-world-loses-under-bill-gates-vaccine-colonialism/ |archive-date=December 24, 2021 |access-date=January 2, 2022 |magazine=Wired}}</ref> The Gates Foundation encouraged Oxford University to partner with a big company rather than give away the rights to its COVID-19 vaccine, as the university had initially announced. Oxford University eventually partnered with [[AstraZeneca]].<ref name="oxford_pledge">{{cite news |last1=Hancock |first1=Jay |date=August 25, 2020 |title=They Pledged to Donate Rights to Their COVID Vaccine, Then Sold Them to Pharma |url=https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210207230036/https://khn.org/news/rather-than-give-away-its-covid-vaccine-oxford-makes-a-deal-with-drugmaker/ |archive-date=February 7, 2021 |access-date=January 2, 2022 |work=Kaiser Health News}}</ref> The criticism came due to the possibility of this preventing poorer nations from obtaining adequate vaccines. Gates argued that what limited widespread access was not intellectual property, but rather the time needed for safety protocols, and the difficulty of safely transferring vaccine production to new facilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bill-gates-covid-vaccines-countries-b1837884.html|title=Bill Gates under fire for saying vaccine formulas shouldn't be shared with developing world|last=Kilander|first=Gustaf|date=April 26, 2021|website=[[The Independent]]|location=Washington, D.C.|publication-place=London|language=en|access-date=May 20, 2021|archive-date=April 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426202507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bill-gates-covid-vaccines-countries-b1837884.html|url-status=live}}</ref> His views on the topic have been linked to his views on [[legal monopolies]] in software.<ref name="apartheid" /><ref name="colonialism" />

=== Cryptocurrencies ===
Gates has been critical of [[cryptocurrency|cryptocurrencies]] like [[Bitcoin]]. According to him, cryptocurrencies provide no "valuable output", contribute nothing to society, and pose a danger especially for smaller investors who could not survive the potentially high losses. Gates also does not own any cryptocurrencies himself.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2022/05/19/bill-gates-explains-why-he-doesnt-own-any-cryptocurrency|title=Bill Gates explains why he doesn't own any cryptocurrency|access-date=May 22, 2022|date=May 19, 2022|magazine=[[Forbes]]|author=Rachel Sandler|archive-date=May 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519183113/https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2022/05/19/bill-gates-explains-why-he-doesnt-own-any-cryptocurrency|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Philanthropy ==
In an interview with the [[BBC]] in 2025, Gates stated that his charitable donations have totalled $100 billion, of which $60 billion have gone to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2p4p4l78zo |title= Bill Gates: We've given away $100bn, but my children won't be poor when I'm gone|first=Katie|last= Razzall|date= February 3, 2025 |website=BBC News |access-date=February 4, 2025}}</ref>

=== Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ===
{{Further|Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation}}
[[File:Millennium Development Goals - World Economic Forum Annual Meeting Davos 2008.jpg|thumb|Gates with [[Bono]], [[Queen Rania of Jordan]], then British Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]], then President of Nigeria [[Umaru Musa Yar'Adua|Umaru Yar'Adua]] and others during the Annual Meeting 2008 of the World Economic Forum]]

Gates studied the work of [[Andrew Carnegie]] and [[John D. Rockefeller]], and donated some of his Microsoft stock in 1994 to create the "William H. Gates Foundation". In 2000, Gates and his wife combined three family foundations and donated stock valued at $5&nbsp;billion to create the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which was identified by the Funds for NGOs company in 2013, as the world's largest charitable foundation, with assets reportedly valued at more than $34.6&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/|title=Gates foundation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523010101/http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/|archive-date=May 23, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fundsforngos.org/all-listings/worlds-top-ten-wealthiest-charitable-foundations/|title=The Top Ten US Charitable Foundations|first=Robin|last=Toal|date=September 16, 2013|work=Funds For NGOs|publisher=Funds For NGOs, LLC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407081521/http://www.fundsforngos.org/all-listings/worlds-top-ten-wealthiest-charitable-foundations/|archive-date=April 7, 2014|url-status=live|access-date=April 6, 2014}}</ref> The foundation allows benefactors to access information that shows how its money is being spent, unlike other major charitable organizations such as the [[Wellcome Trust]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3913581.stm|title=Bill Gates: billionaire philanthropist|author=Cronin, Jon|date=January 25, 2005|access-date=April 1, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015134954/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3913581.stm|archive-date=October 15, 2007|url-status=live|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gatesfoundation.org/AboutUs/OurWork/OurApproach/|title=Our Approach to Giving|publisher=Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404212231/http://www.gatesfoundation.org/AboutUs/OurWork/OurApproach/|archive-date=April 4, 2008|url-status=dead|access-date=April 1, 2008}}</ref> Gates, through his foundation, also donated $20&nbsp;million to the [[Carnegie Mellon University]] for a new building to be named Gates Center for Computer Science which opened in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Speeches/2009/09/Bill-Gates-Carnegie-Mellon-University|title=Bill Gates – Carnegie Mellon University|website=Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation|access-date=January 27, 2019|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106153209/https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Speeches/2009/09/Bill-Gates-Carnegie-Mellon-University|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cmu.edu/engage/partner/foundations/highlighted-partnerships/gates-center.html|title=Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Builds Carnegie Mellon's Home for Computer Science|first=Carnegie Mellon|last=University|website=cmu.edu|access-date=January 27, 2019|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106055204/https://www.cmu.edu/engage/partner/foundations/highlighted-partnerships/gates-center.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gates has credited the generosity and extensive philanthropy of [[David Rockefeller]] as a major influence. He and his father met with Rockefeller several times, and their charity work is partly modeled on the [[Rockefeller family]]'s philanthropic focus, whereby they are interested in tackling the global problems that are ignored by governments and other organizations.<ref name="bill foundation">{{cite book|date=January 1, 2006|title=2005 Annual Report|url=http://www.rbf.org/usr_doc/2005_Annual_Review.pdf|url-status=dead|publisher=[[Rockefeller Brothers Fund]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216010301/http://www.rbf.org/usr_doc/2005_Annual_Review.pdf|archive-date=February 16, 2008|access-date=February 14, 2008}}</ref>

The foundation is organized into five program areas: Global Development Division, Global Health Division, United States Division, and Global Policy & Advocacy Division. Among others, it supports a wide range of public health projects, granting aid to fight transmissible diseases such [[AIDS]], [[tuberculosis]] and [[malaria]], as well as widespread vaccine programs to eradicate [[polio]]. It grants funds to learning institutes and libraries and supports scholarships at universities. The foundation established a water, sanitation and hygiene program to provide sustainable sanitation services in poor countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do|title=What We Do|year=2014|work=Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140403081044/http://www.gatesfoundation.org/what-we-do|archive-date=April 3, 2014|url-status=live|access-date=April 6, 2014}}</ref> Its agriculture division supports the [[International Rice Research Institute]] in developing [[Golden Rice]], a genetically modified rice variant used to combat [[vitamin A deficiency]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Agricultural-Development/Golden-Rice|title=Agricultural Development Golden Rice|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203145910/http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Agricultural-Development/Golden-Rice|archive-date=February 3, 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=February 3, 2016}}</ref> The foundation aims to provide women and girls in the developing world with information and support regarding contraception and, ultimately, universal access to consensual [[family planning]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Family-Planning|title=Family Planning|date=January 1, 2001|website=www.gatesfoundation.org|access-date=October 29, 2019|archive-date=February 27, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227033712/https://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Family-Planning|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2007, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' criticized the foundation for investing its assets in companies that have been accused of worsening poverty, pollution and pharmaceutical firms that do not sell to [[developing countries]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gatesx07jan07,0,6827615.story|title=Dark cloud over good works of Gates Foundation|date=January 7, 2007|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919114432/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gatesx07jan07,0,6827615.story|archive-date=September 19, 2008}}, ''Los Angeles Times'', January 7, 2006.</ref> Although the foundation announced a review of its investments to assess social responsibility,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003517601_gatesinvest10.html |title=Gates Foundation to review investments |last=Heim |first=Kristi |date=January 10, 2007 |work=[[The Seattle Times]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516015458/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003517601_gatesinvest10.html|archive-date=May 16, 2007}}</ref> it was subsequently canceled and upheld its policy of investing for maximum return, while using voting rights to influence company practices.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Piller |first1=Charles |title=Gates Foundation to keep its investment approach |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-gates14jan14-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=October 19, 2020 |date=January 14, 2007 |archive-date=October 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021020424/https://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-gates14jan14-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Bill Gates at Singapore FinTech Festival 2020.jpg|thumb|Gates in a fireside chat moderated by [[Shereen Bhan]] virtually at the [[Singapore FinTech Festival]] 2020]]

Gates delivered his thoughts in a fireside chat moderated by journalist and news anchor [[Shereen Bhan]] virtually at the [[Singapore FinTech Festival]] on December 8, 2020, on the topic, "Building Infrastructure for Resilience: What the [[COVID-19 pandemic|COVID-19]] Response Can Teach Us About How to Scale Financial Inclusion".<ref name=billgates>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/sff-x-switch-2020/pandemic-though-terrible-helped-push-digital-financial-revolution|title=Pandemic, though terrible, helped push digital financial revolution: Bill Gates|access-date=December 9, 2020|work=[[Business Times (Singapore)|Business Times]]|location=Singapore|date=December 8, 2020|archive-date=December 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208054230/https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/sff-x-switch-2020/pandemic-though-terrible-helped-push-digital-financial-revolution|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|Governments are there to think ahead to bad things that might happen. In the case of (the COVID-19) pandemic, not enough was done. We can't forget that another pandemic will come and we'll need to invest in being ready in that,&nbsp;... while not forgetting that we were not prepared and we're going to have to invest – just like having a fire department – some money in an intelligent way and actually simulate what might happen and make sure that we're ready for it.<ref name=billgates />}}

In a November 2020 interview with actress [[Rashida Jones]], Gates endorsed the wearing of face masks as a means to public reopening, derisively comparing anti-mask activism to "nudists" who oppose wearing pants.<ref name="ammbg">{{cite news |last1=Miller |first1=Anna Medaris |title=Bill Gates says he doesn't understand anti-maskers: 'What are these, like, nudists?' |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-rashida-jones-on-anti-maskers-are-like-nudists-2020-11 |agency=Business Insider |publisher=Insider Inc. |date=November 16, 2020 |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=September 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923200040/https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-rashida-jones-on-anti-maskers-are-like-nudists-2020-11 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Personal donations ===
Melinda Gates suggested that people should emulate the philanthropic efforts of the Salwen family, who sold their home and gave away half of its value, as detailed in their book, ''[[The Power of Half]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://gulfnews.com/life-style/general/they-half-it-in-them-1.686505|title=They half it in them|first=Bina|last=Abraham|date=October 1, 2010|newspaper=Gulf News|access-date=March 17, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121122929/http://gulfnews.com/life-style/general/they-half-it-in-them-1.686505|archive-date=January 21, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Gates and his wife invited Joan Salwen to Seattle to speak about what the family had done, and on December 9, 2010, Bill and Melinda Gates and investor [[Warren Buffett]] each signed a commitment they called the "[[Giving Pledge]]", which is a commitment by all three to donate at least half of their wealth, over the course of time, to charity.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/dec2010/ca20101214_945792.htm|title=Four Strategic Generosity Lessons|last=Moss|first=Rosabeth|date=December 14, 2010|work=Business Week|access-date=March 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110225154751/http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/dec2010/ca20101214_945792.htm|archive-date=February 25, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna38556042|title=40 billionaires pledge to give away half of wealth|website=[[NBC News]]|date=August 4, 2010|access-date=August 8, 2010|archive-date=June 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610155840/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/38556042|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-home-living/a-rich-gift-homemade-jelly-for-bill-melinda-gates.aspx|title=A Rich Gift: Homemade Jelly for Bill and Melinda Gates|author=Robyn Griggs Lawrence|date=February 22, 2011|work=Mother Earth News|access-date=March 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110224045032/http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-home-living/a-rich-gift-homemade-jelly-for-bill-melinda-gates.aspx|archive-date=February 24, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Foundation has received criticism, particularly over its role in [[Common Core]], with critics stating the support is "[[Cronyism|cronyist]]" in that it profits from the "federal, state, and local contracts".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sower |first=Craig |date=March 14, 2014 |title=Common Core's Leviathan {{!}} Craig Sower |url=https://think.iafor.org/common-cores-leviathan-bill-gates-and-misadventures-within-american-public-education/ |access-date=December 31, 2023 |website=THINK.IAFOR.ORG |language=en-US |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231212421/https://think.iafor.org/common-cores-leviathan-bill-gates-and-misadventures-within-american-public-education/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Organization Named Achieve: Cradle of Common Core Cronyism |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED593655.pdf |website=Department of Education |access-date=December 31, 2023 |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231212423/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED593655.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 7, 2015 |title=Melinda Gates says Common Core pushback propelled by changing too much, too fast |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/melinda-gates-says-testing-opt-propelled-changing-much-fast |access-date=December 31, 2023 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231212421/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/melinda-gates-says-testing-opt-propelled-changing-much-fast |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 16, 2022 |title=Schoolchildren Are Not 'Mere Creatures of the State' |url=https://www.commentary.org/articles/robert-pondiscio/schools-vs-parents/ |access-date=December 31, 2023 |website=Commentary Magazine |language=en-US |archive-date=December 31, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231212422/https://www.commentary.org/articles/robert-pondiscio/schools-vs-parents/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gates has also provided personal donations to educational institutions. In 1999, Gates donated $20&nbsp;million to the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] for the construction of a computer laboratory named the "William H. Gates Building" that was designed by architect [[Frank Gehry]]. While Microsoft had previously given financial support to the institution, this was the first personal donation received from Gates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1999/4/14/bill-gates-donates-20-million-to/|title=Bill Gates Donates $20&nbsp;million to MIT|author=Matthew G.H. Chun|date=April 14, 1999|work=The Harvard Crimson|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407070541/http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1999/4/14/bill-gates-donates-20-million-to/|archive-date=April 7, 2014|url-status=live|access-date=April 6, 2014}}</ref>

The Maxwell Dworkin Laboratory of the [[Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences]] is named after the mothers of both Gates and Microsoft President Steven A. Ballmer, both of whom were students (Ballmer was a member of the school's graduating class of 1977, while Gates left his studies for Microsoft), and donated funds for the laboratory's construction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seas.harvard.edu/about-seas/map-directions/buildings|title=Our Campus – Teaching, research, and administrative spaces|year=2014|work=Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences|publisher=President and Fellows of Harvard College|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407083133/http://www.seas.harvard.edu/about-seas/map-directions/buildings|archive-date=April 7, 2014|url-status=live|access-date=April 6, 2014}}</ref> Gates also donated $6&nbsp;million to the construction of the Gates Computer Science Building, completed in January 1996, on the campus of [[Stanford University]]. The building contains the Computer Science Department and the Computer Systems Laboratory (CSL) of Stanford's Engineering department.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cs.stanford.edu/info/gates|title=Gates Computer Science Building|year=2014|work=Stanford Engineering|publisher=Stanford University|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401153102/http://cs.stanford.edu/info/gates|archive-date=April 1, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=April 6, 2014}}</ref>

Since 2005, Gates and his foundation have taken an interest in solving global [[sanitation]] problems. For example, they announced the "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge", which has received considerable media interest.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/opinion/bill-gates-cant-build-a-toilet.html|title=Bill Gates Can't Build a Toilet|last=Kass|first=Jason|date=November 18, 2013|access-date=March 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325040746/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/opinion/bill-gates-cant-build-a-toilet.html|archive-date=March 25, 2015|url-status=live|website=The New York Times |department=Opinion Pages}}</ref> To raise awareness for the topic of sanitation and possible solutions, Gates drank water that was "produced from human feces" in 2014&nbsp;– it was produced from a [[sewage sludge treatment]] process called the [[Omni Processor]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30709273|title=Bill Gates drinks water distilled from human faeces |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111050713/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30709273|archive-date=January 11, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=January 11, 2015|publisher=BBC News|date=January 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/Omniprocessor-From-Poop-to-Potable|title=From poop to portable, This Ingenious Machine Turns Feces into Drinking Water|date=January 5, 2015|newspaper=Gatesnotes.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113004648/http://www.gatesnotes.com/Development/Omniprocessor-From-Poop-to-Potable|archive-date=January 13, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=January 13, 2015|last1=Gates |first1=Bill }}</ref> In early 2015, he also appeared with [[Jimmy Fallon]] on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' and challenged him to see if he could taste the difference between this [[reclaimed water]] or bottled water.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHgsL0dpQ-U|title=Bill Gates and Jimmy Drink Poop Water|date=January 22, 2015|publisher=Youtube Channel of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507213238/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHgsL0dpQ-U|archive-date=May 7, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In November 2017, Gates said he would give $50&nbsp;million to the Dementia Discovery Fund, a venture capital fund that seeks treatment for [[Alzheimer's disease]]. He also pledged an additional $50&nbsp;million to start-up ventures working in Alzheimer's research.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-dementia-gates/bill-gates-makes-100-million-personal-investment-to-fight-alzheimers-idUSKBN1DD0S3|title=Bill Gates makes $100 million personal investment to fight Alzheimer's|newspaper=Reuters|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113144626/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-dementia-gates/bill-gates-makes-100-million-personal-investment-to-fight-alzheimers-idUSKBN1DD0S3|archive-date=November 13, 2017|url-status=live|access-date=November 13, 2017|date=November 13, 2017}}</ref> Bill and Melinda Gates have said that they intend to leave their three children $10&nbsp;million each as their inheritance. With only $30&nbsp;million kept in the family, they are expected to give away about 99.96% of their wealth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/briefly_noted80 |title=Briefly Noted < Excellence in Philanthropy |website= The Philanthropy Roundtable |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160211210606/http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/topic/excellence_in_philanthropy/briefly_noted80 |archive-date=February 11, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=March 10, 2016}}</ref> In 2025 Bill Gates said in an interview with Raj Shammi that his children will inherit less than 1% of his wealth.<ref>{{cite web | title=Bill Gates says his children will get less than 1% of his wealth | url=https://fortune.com/2025/03/31/bill-gates-children-inheritence-microsoft-fortune-philanthropy/ }}</ref> On August 25, 2018, Gates distributed $600,000 through his foundation via [[UNICEF]] which is helping flood affected victims in [[Kerala]], India.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiaglitz.com/bill-gates-follows-thalapathy-vijays-unique-way-to-help-kerala-flood-victims-tamil-news-219725|title=Bill Gates follows Thalapathy Vijay's unique way to help Kerala flood victims – Tamil Movie News|work=IndiaGlitz.com|access-date=August 25, 2018|archive-date=August 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826043918/https://www.indiaglitz.com/bill-gates-follows-thalapathy-vijays-unique-way-to-help-kerala-flood-victims-tamil-news-219725|url-status=live}}</ref>

In June 2018, Gates offered free [[ebook]]s, to all new graduates of U.S. colleges and universities,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Brueck |first1=Hilary |title=Bill Gates Is Giving Away Free Copies of One of the Most Important Books He's Read to All College Graduates – Here's How to Get Yours |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/314586 |access-date=July 21, 2022 |work=Entrepreneur |language=en |archive-date=May 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517095019/https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/314586 |url-status=live }}</ref> and in 2021, offered free ebooks, to all college and university students around the world.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Gates Notes |title=Every College and University Student Around the World Can Now Receive a Free Digital Copy of Bill Gates' Book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/every-college-and-university-student-around-the-world-can-now-receive-a-free-digital-copy-of-bill-gates-book-how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster-301406972.html |website=prnewswire |access-date=July 21, 2022 |language=en |date=October 25, 2021 |archive-date=July 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721211538/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/every-college-and-university-student-around-the-world-can-now-receive-a-free-digital-copy-of-bill-gates-book-how-to-avoid-a-climate-disaster-301406972.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lui |first1=Herbert |title=Why Bill Gates gave away 4 million copies of this book to future leaders |url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90682027/why-bill-gates-gave-away-4-million-copies-of-this-book-to-future-leaders |access-date=July 21, 2022 |work=Fast Company |date=October 2, 2021 |archive-date=July 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721214225/https://www.fastcompany.com/90682027/why-bill-gates-gave-away-4-million-copies-of-this-book-to-future-leaders |url-status=live }}</ref> The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation partially funds [[OpenStax]], which creates and provides free digital textbooks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Are Bill and Melinda Gates Giving Away Free College Textbooks? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bill-and-melinda-gates-free-textbooks/ |website=[[Snopes]] |date=August 24, 2016 |access-date=July 21, 2022 |archive-date=October 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013145202/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/bill-and-melinda-gates-free-textbooks/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2022 he reiterated the commitment he had made by starting [[the Giving Pledge]] campaign by announcing on his Twitter channel he planned to give 'virtually all' his wealth to charity and eventually 'move off of the list of the world's richest people'.<ref>{{cite web| title=Bill Gates pledges to donate 'virtually all' of $113bn fortune to his foundation| first=Victoria| last=Bekiempis| url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/15/bill-gates-billions-fotune-donate-foundation| date=July 15, 2022| website=[[The Guardian]]| access-date=March 13, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216134302/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jul/15/bill-gates-billions-fotune-donate-foundation| archive-date=December 16, 2022| url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Charity sports events ===
In April 2017, Gates partnered with Swiss tennis player [[Roger Federer]] in playing in the [[Match for Africa#Match for Africa 4|Match for Africa 4]], a noncompetitive tennis match at a sold-out [[Key Arena]] in Seattle. The event was in support of the [[Roger Federer Foundation]]'s charity efforts in Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2017/live-blog-bill-gates-roger-federer-play-tennis-charity-seattle/|title=Live blog: Bill Gates and Roger Federer play tennis for charity in Seattle|date=April 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501032244/https://www.geekwire.com/2017/live-blog-bill-gates-roger-federer-play-tennis-charity-seattle/|archive-date=May 1, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Federer and Gates played against [[John Isner]], the top-ranked American player for much of this decade, and [[Mike McCready]], the lead guitarist for [[Pearl Jam]]. The pair won the match 6 games to 4. Overall, they raised $2&nbsp;million for children in Africa.<ref name="match4">{{cite web|title=Match For Africa 4 a Huge Hit for Federer's Foundation|url=http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2017/04/match-4-africa-federer-isner-bill-gates-mccready-charity/65754/|website=Tennis.com|access-date=May 16, 2018|archive-date=May 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504100023/http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2017/04/match-4-africa-federer-isner-bill-gates-mccready-charity/65754/|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year, Gates and Federer returned to play in the [[Match for Africa#Match for Africa 5|Match for Africa 5]] on March 5, 2018, at San Jose's [[SAP Center]]. Their opponents were [[Jack Sock]], one of the top American players and a grand slam winner in doubles, and [[Savannah Guthrie]], a co-anchor for [[NBC]]'s ''[[Today (U.S. TV program)|Today]]'' show. Gates and Federer recorded their second match victory together by a score of 6–3 and the event raised over $2.5&nbsp;million.<ref name="match5">{{cite web|title=Roger Federer's Match For Africa Raises More Than $2.5 Million|url=http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018/03/roger-federers-match-africa-raises-more-25-million-jack-sock-bill-gates-charity/72548/|website=Tennis.com|access-date=May 16, 2018|archive-date=March 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308030056/http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2018/03/roger-federers-match-africa-raises-more-25-million-jack-sock-bill-gates-charity/72548/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Books ==
In 1989, Gates wrote the foreword to the Microsoft Press book ''[[Learn BASIC Now]]'', by [[Michael Halvorson]] and David Rygmyr, reflecting on the growth of the BASIC language and its use in most of the era's personal computers. He also sketched out plans for BASIC's use as a universal language to embellish or alter the performance of a range of software applications.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gates |first1=Bill |last2=Halvorson |first2=Michael |last3=Rygmyr |first3=David |title=Learn BASIC Now |date=1989 |publisher=Microsoft Press |location=Redmond, WA |pages=ix-x}}</ref>

Gates has authored several books. ''[[The Road Ahead (Bill Gates book)|The Road Ahead]]'', co-authored with Microsoft executive [[Nathan Myhrvold]] and journalist [[Peter Rinearson]], was published in November 1995. It summarized the implications of the personal computing revolution and described a future profoundly changed by the arrival of a global [[information superhighway]]. His second book, ''[[Business @ the Speed of Thought]]'', co-authored with Collins Hemingway, was published in 1999, and discusses how business and technology are integrated, and shows how digital infrastructures and information networks can help to get an edge on the competition. In 2021 he published ''[[How to Avoid a Climate Disaster]]'', which presents what Gates learned in over a decade of studying climate change and investing in innovations to address climate problems.<ref name="Gates2021">Gates, Bill (2021). ''How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need''. [https://books.google.com/books?id=pHK0DwAAQBAJ Description] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404184213/https://books.google.com/books?id=pHK0DwAAQBAJ|date=April 4, 2023}} & [https://books.google.com/books?id=pHK0DwAAQBAJ arrowed/scrollable preview.] Knopf. Retrieved April 26, 2021.</ref> Following the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] Gates published ''[[How to Prevent the Next Pandemic]]'' in 2022 which proposes a "Global Epidemic Response and Mobilization" (GERM) team with annual funding of $1 billion, under the auspices of the WHO.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Adam |last=Vaughan |title=How to Prevent the Next Pandemic review: Bill Gates's timely blueprint |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2318203-how-to-prevent-the-next-pandemic-review-bill-gatess-timely-blueprint/ |date=May 2, 2022 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US |access-date=May 5, 2022 |archive-date=May 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502214215/https://www.newscientist.com/article/2318203-how-to-prevent-the-next-pandemic-review-bill-gatess-timely-blueprint/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Horton |first=Richard |date=May 14, 2022 |title=Offline: Bill Gates and the fate of WHO |journal=The Lancet |language=English |volume=399 |issue=10338 |pages=1853 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(22)00874-1 | pmid=35569450  |s2cid=248726392 |issn=0140-6736|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The first of Gates's planned three memoirs, ''[[Source Code (memoir)|Source Code]]'' was published in February 2025.<ref name='PenguinUK'>{{cite web|title=Source Code|url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/468308/source-code-by-gates-bill/9780241736678|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|access-date=January 3, 2024}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Gates is an avid reader, and the ceiling of his large home library is engraved with a quotation from ''[[The Great Gatsby]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last = Paterson|first = Thane|title="He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close he could hardly fail to grasp it" (Advice for Bill Gates: A Little Culture Wouldn't Hurt)|work=Business Week|date = June 13, 2000|url = http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/june2000/nf00613b.htm |access-date =April 28, 2008 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080501175753/http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/june2000/nf00613b.htm| archive-date= May 1, 2008 | url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gates |first=Bill |year=2022 |title=I was recently asked what advice I would give to young people who want to make a positive impact on the world |url=https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6943628912300101632/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220619070917/https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6943628912300101632/ |archive-date=June 19, 2022 |access-date=June 19, 2022 |website=LinkedIn |publisher=[[LinkedIn]] |quote=My advice is simple: Read a lot and discover a skill you enjoy}}</ref> He also enjoys bridge, golf, and tennis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/default.aspx?tab=biography |title=Bill Gates: Chairman |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |year=2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828034654/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/default.aspx?tab=biography |archive-date=August 28, 2008 |url-status=dead }} [https://computerhistory.org/profile/bill-gates/ Alt URL] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921213354/https://computerhistory.org/profile/bill-gates/ |date=September 21, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Profile: Bill Gates |work=BBC News |url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3428721.stm |date=January 26, 2004 |access-date=January 1, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090201075405/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3428721.stm |archive-date=February 1, 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> His days are planned for him on a minute-by-minute basis, similarly to the [[U.S. president]]'s schedule.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/bill-gates-he-eats-big-macs-for-lunch-and-schedules-every-minute/|title=Bill Gates: He eats Big Macs for lunch and schedules every minute of his day – meet the man worth $80 billion|first=Mary|last=Riddell|date=October 21, 2016|newspaper=The Telegraph|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161024094352/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/bill-gates-he-eats-big-macs-for-lunch-and-schedules-every-minute/|archive-date=October 24, 2016|url-status=live|access-date=October 24, 2016}}</ref> Despite his wealth and extensive business travel, Gates flew [[coach class|coach]] (economy class) in [[commercial aircraft]] until 1997, when he bought a [[private jet]].<ref name="zuckerman19971027" />

In the 1990s, Gates built an [[Bill Gates's house|earth-sheltered mansion]], designed by James Cutler and [[Peter Bohlin]], in the side of a hill overlooking [[Lake Washington]] in [[Medina, Washington]]. The estate has been nicknamed "Xanadu 2.0" by Gates's biographers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Safronova |first=Valeriya |date=May 5, 2021 |title=Who Gets Xanadu 2.0, the Gates Family Mansion? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/05/style/bill-melinda-gates-divorce-settlement.html |access-date=March 25, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 2009, [[property tax]]es on the mansion were reported to be US$1.063&nbsp;million, on a total assessed value of US$147.5&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news |author=Anderson, Rick |date=May 16, 2008 |title=Taxman Cometh |url=http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/blogs/dailyweekly/2008/05/gates_taxman_cometh.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417180124/http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/blogs/dailyweekly/2008/05/gates_taxman_cometh.php |archive-date=April 17, 2013 |newspaper=Seattle Weekly}}</ref> The {{convert|66000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} estate has a {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} swimming pool with an underwater music system, as well as a {{convert|2500|sqft|m2|adj=on}} gym and a {{convert|1000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} dining room.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 22, 2002 |title=Photo Gallery: Homes Of The Billionaires |url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/03/11/billionaire-homes-expensive-billionaires-2009-lifestyle-real-estate-homes_3.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326042414/http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/11/billionaire-homes-expensive-billionaires-2009-lifestyle-real-estate-homes_3.html |archive-date=March 26, 2010 |access-date=June 9, 2010 |work=Forbes}}</ref>

Gates purchased the [[Codex Leicester]], a collection of scientific writings by [[Leonardo da Vinci]], for US$30.8&nbsp;million at an auction in 1994.<ref>{{harvnb|Lesinski|2006|p=74}}</ref> In 1998, he reportedly paid $30 million for the original 1885 maritime painting ''[[Lost on the Grand Banks]]'', at the time a record price for an American painting.<ref>{{cite news |last=Vogel |first=Carol |title=Sale of Homer Seascape Sets Record |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/05/us/sale-of-homer-seascape-sets-record.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=May 5, 1998 |access-date=April 26, 2021 |archive-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921213353/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/05/us/sale-of-homer-seascape-sets-record.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2016, he revealed that he was [[Color blindness|color-blind]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ign.com/articles/2016/02/18/this-was-bill-gates-favorite-xbla-game|title=This Was Bill Gates' Favorite XBLA Game|first=Alex|last=Osborn|date=February 18, 2016|work=[[IGN]]|publisher=[[Ziff Davis]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160219110709/http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/02/18/this-was-bill-gates-favorite-xbla-game|archive-date=February 19, 2016}}</ref> In 2025, in ''[[Source Code (memoir)|Source Code]]'', Gates wrote that he believed he was [[Autism|autistic]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nguyen |first=Sophia |date=February 4, 2025 |title=Why Bill Gates buried a headline in his memoir's epilogue |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/02/04/bill-gates-memoir-source-code/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250205135821/https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/02/04/bill-gates-memoir-source-code/ |archive-date=February 5, 2025 |access-date=February 5, 2025 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |quote="Well, the word "autism" — or on the spectrum or ADHD — was not ever used when I was growing up. But if you pattern-match looking backwards, even today I have this rocking behavior that's kind of self-stimming that is a symptom of people who are on the spectrum. And [in elementary school] when I turn in a Delaware state report that's 200 pages and everybody else is turning in five pages, I was kind of embarrassed. Why did I go nuts over that thing?}}</ref>

=== Marriage, family and divorce ===
{{See also|Family of Bill Gates}}
[[File:Bill og Melinda Gates 2009-06-03 (bilde 01).JPG|thumb|Gates with then wife [[Melinda Gates|Melinda]], June 2009]]

In 1987, at a trade fair in New York, Gates met [[Melinda Gates|Melinda French]], then a recent graduate of [[Duke University]] who had begun working at Microsoft around four months earlier.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fleury |first=Michelle |date=May 3, 2021 |title=Bill and Melinda Gates divorce after 27 years of marriage |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56975466 |access-date=September 2, 2024 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> Gates and French became engaged in 1993 after dating for six years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dodd |first=Sophie |date=June 26, 2024 |title=Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates' Relationship Timeline |url=https://people.com/human-interest/bill-gates-melinda-french-gates-relationship-timeline/ |access-date=September 2, 2024 |website=People |language=en}}</ref> They married on January 1, 1994, at the 12th hole of the [[Jack Nicklaus]]–designed Manele Golf Course on the Hawaiian Island of [[Lanai|Lānaʻi]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liao |first=Christina |date=July 31, 2017 |title=You Can Now Have Your Wedding Where Bill Gates Got Married |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinaliao/2017/07/31/bill-gates-wedding-manele-golf-course-four-seasons-resort-lanai/ |access-date=September 2, 2024 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Gammon |first1=Katherine |title=What We'll Miss About Bill Gates — a Very Long Good-Bye |date=May 19, 2008 |url=https://www.wired.com/2008/05/st-billgates/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=May 4, 2021 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413124225/https://www.wired.com/2008/05/st-billgates/ |url-status=live }}</ref> They have three children, two daughters and a son.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dodd |first=Sophie |title=Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates' 3 Children: All About Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe |url=https://people.com/parents/all-about-bill-gates-melinda-french-gates-children/ |access-date=September 2, 2024 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}}</ref> On May 3, 2021, Bill and Melinda Gates announced their decision to divorce after more than 27 years of marriage.<ref name="divorce">{{cite web |last1=Novet |first1=Jordan |title=Bill Gates and Melinda Gates are splitting up after 27 years |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/bill-gates-and-melinda-gates-are-splitting-up.html |website=CNBC |access-date=May 3, 2021 |language=en |date=May 3, 2021 |archive-date=May 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503203535/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/03/bill-gates-and-melinda-gates-are-splitting-up.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="divorce-nytimes">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/business/bill-melinda-gates-divorce.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513224416/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/business/bill-melinda-gates-divorce.html |archive-date=May 13, 2021 |url-access=limited |title=The Gateses' Public Split Spotlights a Secretive Fortune |first1=Nicholas |last1=Kulish |first2=David |last2=Gelles |first3=Anupreeta |last3=Das |first4=Kate |last4=Kelly |date=May 13, 2021 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that Melinda had begun meeting with divorce attorneys in 2019, citing interviews that suggested Gates's ties with [[Jeffrey Epstein]] were among her concerns.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/melinda-gates-was-meeting-with-divorce-lawyers-since-2019-to-end-marriage-with-bill-gates-11620579924|title=Melinda Gates Was Meeting With Divorce Lawyers Since 2019 to End Marriage With Bill Gates|first1=Emily|last1=Glazer|first2=Khadeeja|last2=Safdar|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=May 9, 2021|access-date=May 12, 2021|archive-date=May 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511000852/https://www.wsj.com/articles/melinda-gates-was-meeting-with-divorce-lawyers-since-2019-to-end-marriage-with-bill-gates-11620579924|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the couple delayed their divorce until their youngest child [[Phoebe Gates]] graduated from high school.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=DeSantis |first1=Rachel |last2=Triggs |first2=Charlotte |date=May 7, 2021 |title='Combo of Things' Led to Bill & Melinda Gates' Divorce, But 'Nobody' Wants 'More Scrutiny': Source |url=https://people.com/human-interest/combo-of-things-led-to-bill-melinda-gates-divorce-source/ |access-date=September 2, 2024 |website=People |language=en}}</ref> The divorce was finalized on August 2, 2021, and the financial details have remained confidential.<ref name="Kulish2021">{{Cite news |last=Kulish |first=Nicholas |date=August 2, 2021 |title=Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates finalize their divorce |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/02/business/bill-gates-divorce-melinda-french.html |access-date=September 2, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In October 2021, Gates's eldest daughter Jennifer, a pediatrician and professional [[show-jumper]], married Olympic equestrian [[Nayel Nassar]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Scipioni |first=Jade |date=June 26, 2020 |title=Bill Gates' daughter Jenn: 'I was born into a huge situation of privilege' |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/26/bill-gates-daughter-jennifer-on-privilege-and-giving-back.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423132647/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/26/bill-gates-daughter-jennifer-on-privilege-and-giving-back.html |archive-date=April 23, 2021 |access-date=May 3, 2021 |publisher=[[CNBC]]}}</ref> with whom she has two daughters, born in March 2023 and October 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calvario |first=Liz |date=March 7, 2023 |title=Bill Gates becomes a first-time grandfather after daughter Jennifer welcomes baby |url=https://www.today.com/parents/celebrity/bill-gates-becomes-first-time-grandfather-daughter-welcomes-baby-rcna73698 |access-date=July 29, 2024 |website=TODAY.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Sacks |first1=Hannah |last2=Clack |first2=Erin |date=November 2, 2024 |title=Jennifer Gates Welcomes Baby No. 2, a Girl, with Husband Nayel Nassar: 'The Best Gift' |url=https://people.com/jennifer-gates-welcomes-baby-no-2-with-husband-nayel-nassar-8730009 |access-date=December 17, 2024 |website=People |language=en}}</ref> His son Rory is pursuing a PhD at the [[The Institute of World Politics|Institute of World Politics]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dodd |first=Sophie |title=Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates' 3 Children: All About Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe |url=https://people.com/parents/all-about-bill-gates-melinda-french-gates-children/ |access-date=2025-07-03 |website=People |language=en}}</ref> His youngest daughter Phoebe co-founded the digital fashion platform Phia<ref>{{Cite news |date=2025-04-27 |title=Phoebe Gates launches Phia without her dad's fortune — Here's why Bill Gates stayed out of it |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/global-trends/phoebe-gates-launches-phia-without-her-dads-fortune-heres-why-bill-gates-stayed-out-of-it/articleshow/120664764.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2025-06-08 |work=The Economic Times |issn=0013-0389}}</ref> and is an advocate for women's health and reproductive rights.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Phoebe Gates Honored as 'Rising' Champion of Abortion Rights While Sister Jennifer Says She's 'So Proud' |url=https://people.com/phoebe-gates-honored-rising-reproductive-freedom-champion-award-8717207 |access-date=2025-06-08 |website=People |language=en}}</ref>

In February 2023, Gates confirmed that he was dating Paula Hurd (née Kalupa),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burack |first=Emily |date=2025-06-27 |title=Bill Gates Is in Venice for Jeff Bezos's Wedding with His Girlfriend Paula Hurd |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a65174856/who-is-paula-hurd-bill-gates-girlfriend/ |access-date=2025-07-03 |website=Town & Country |language=en-US}}</ref> widow of former [[Oracle Corporation]] and [[Hewlett-Packard]] chief executive [[Mark Hurd]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chung |first=Gabrielle |date=February 10, 2023 |title=Paula Hurd, Widow of Late Oracle CEO Is Dating Bill Gates |url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/bill-gates-is-dating-paula-hurd-almost-2-years-after-divorce/4097662/ |access-date=July 28, 2024 |website=NBC New York |language=en-US}}</ref> Appearing on the ''[[Today (American TV program)|Today]]'' show in February 2025, he described Hurd as a "serious girlfriend", stating he had "moved past the divorce".<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 4, 2025 |title=Bill Gates confirms he has serious girlfriend, says of marriage to Melinda French Gates that he'd 'do it again' |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/bill-gates-confirms-serious-girlfriend-says-marriage-melinda-gates-rcna190590 |access-date=February 21, 2025 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

=== Public image ===
[[File:170217-D-GO396-0147 (32577063650).jpg|thumb|right|Gates with U.S. Secretary of Defense [[Jim Mattis]], February 2017|alt=]]

Gates's public image has changed over the years. At first he was perceived as a brilliant but ruthless "robber baron", a "[[nerd]]-turned-tycoon".<ref name="Carr-2021">{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-21/bill-gates-s-carefully-curated-dad-geek-image-unravels-in-two-weeks|title=Bill Gates's Carefully Curated Geek Image Unravels in Two Weeks|last=Carr|first=Austin|date=May 21, 2021|work=Bloomberg News|access-date=July 25, 2021|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723023357/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-21/bill-gates-s-carefully-curated-dad-geek-image-unravels-in-two-weeks|url-status=live}}</ref> Starting in 2000 with the foundation of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and particularly after he stepped down as head of Microsoft, he turned his attention to philanthropy, spending more than $50 billion on causes like health, poverty, and education. His image morphed from "tyrannical technocrat to saintly savior" to a "huggable billionaire techno-philanthropist", celebrated on magazine covers and sought after for his opinions on major issues like global health and climate change.<ref name="Carr-2021" /> Still another shift in public opinion came in 2021 with the announcement that he and Melinda were divorcing. Coverage of that proceeding brought out information about romantic pursuits of women who worked for him, a long-term extra-marital affair, and a friendship with convicted sex offender [[Jeffrey Epstein]].<ref name="Flitter">{{Cite news |last1=Flitter |first1=Emily |last2=Goldstein |first2=Matthew |date=May 16, 2021 |title=Long Before Divorce, Bill Gates Had Reputation for Questionable Behavior |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/16/business/bill-melinda-gates-divorce-epstein.html |url-access=limited |access-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/16/business/bill-melinda-gates-divorce-epstein.html |archive-date=December 28, 2021 |issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> This information and his response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in some deterioration of his public image, going from "a lovable nerd who was out to save the world" to "a tech supervillain who wants to protect profits over public health".<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Shephard|first1=Alex|date=June 4, 2021|title=Oligarch of the Month: Bill Gates|magazine=The New Republic|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/162598/bill-gates-oligarch-month-vaccines|access-date=July 23, 2021|issn=0028-6583|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723014014/https://newrepublic.com/article/162598/bill-gates-oligarch-month-vaccines|url-status=live}}</ref>

Investigative journalist Tim Schwab has accused Gates of using his contributions to the media to shape their coverage of him in order to protect his public image.<ref name="Schwab-2020" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 2021 |title=Billionaire Bill Gates Uses Money to Shape the Media |url=https://jacobinmag.com/2021/11/bill-gates-foundation-jeffrey-epstein-divorce-journalism |access-date=May 19, 2022 |website=[[Jacobin (magazine)|Jacobin]] |language=en-US |archive-date=November 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127212352/https://jacobinmag.com/2021/11/bill-gates-foundation-jeffrey-epstein-divorce-journalism |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2022, ''[[Politico]]'' published an exposé critical of NGO leadership at the helm of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic response, written in cooperation with the German newspaper ''[[Die Welt]]''. Criticisms included the interconnectivity of the non-profits with Gates, as well as his personal lack of formal credentials in medicine.<ref>{{cite web |title=How Bill Gates and partners used their clout to control the global Covid response — with little oversight |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/14/global-covid-pandemic-response-bill-gates-partners-00053969 |website=Politico |date=September 14, 2022 |access-date=October 16, 2022 |archive-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017030424/https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/14/global-covid-pandemic-response-bill-gates-partners-00053969 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gates and the projects of his foundation have been the subject of many conspiracy theories that proliferate on Facebook and elsewhere. He has been implausibly accused of attempting to depopulate the world, distributing harmful or unethical vaccines, and implanting people with privacy-violating microchips. These unfounded theories reached a new level of influence during the COVID-19 pandemic when, according to ''New York Times'' journalist Rory Smith, the uncertainties of pandemic life drove people to seek explanations from the Internet.<ref>{{Citation |last=Wakefield |first=Jane |title=How Bill Gates became the voodoo doll of Covid conspiracies |date=June 6, 2020 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52833706 |work=[[BBC]] |access-date=November 7, 2022 |archive-date=November 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107090650/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52833706 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last1=Wakabayashi |first1=Daisuke |title=Bill Gates, at Odds With Trump on Virus, Becomes a Right-Wing Target |date=April 17, 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/technology/bill-gates-virus-conspiracy-theories.html |access-date=November 7, 2022 |last2=Alba |first2=Davey |last3=Tracy |first3=Marc |work=The New York Times |author-link2=Davey Alba |author-link3=Marc Tracy |archive-date=December 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201209234759/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/technology/bill-gates-virus-conspiracy-theories.html |url-status=live }}</ref> When asked about the theories, Gates has remarked that some people are tempted by the "simple explanation" that an evil person rather than biological factors are to blame, and that he does not know for what purpose anyone believes he would want to track them with microchips.<ref>{{citation |last=Gates |first=Bill |title=Bill Gates' message to Covid-19 conspiracy theorists |date=July 24, 2020 |url=https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/07/24/bill-gates-conspiracy-theories-coronavirus-covid-19-social-media-town-hall-vpx.cnnbusiness |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=November 7, 2022 |interviewer=[[Anderson Cooper]] |archive-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017024649/https://www.cnn.com/videos/business/2020/07/24/bill-gates-conspiracy-theories-coronavirus-covid-19-social-media-town-hall-vpx.cnnbusiness |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sandler |first=Rachel |title=Bill Gates Explains Why He Doesn't Own Any Cryptocurrency |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2022/05/19/bill-gates-explains-why-he-doesnt-own-any-cryptocurrency/ |access-date=November 12, 2022 |website=Forbes |language=en |archive-date=November 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221112135759/https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2022/05/19/bill-gates-explains-why-he-doesnt-own-any-cryptocurrency/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Religious views ===
In an interview with ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', Gates said in regard to his faith: "The moral systems of religion, I think, are super important. We've raised our kids in a religious way; they've gone to the Catholic church that Melinda goes to and I participate in. I've been very lucky, and therefore I owe it to try and reduce the inequity in the world. And that's kind of a religious belief. I mean, it's at least a moral belief."<ref name="God" /> In the same 2014 interview he also said: "I agree with people like [[Richard Dawkins]] that mankind felt the need for [[creation myth]]s. Before we really began to understand disease and the weather and things like that, we sought false explanations for them. Now science has filled in some of the realm&nbsp;– not all&nbsp;– that religion used to fill. But the mystery and the beauty of the world is overwhelmingly amazing, and there's no scientific explanation of how it came about. To say that it was generated by random numbers, that does seem, you know, sort of an uncharitable view [laughs]. I think it makes sense to [[theist|believe in God]], but exactly what decision in your life you make differently because of it, [[agnostic|I don't know]]."<ref name="God">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/bill-gates-the-rolling-stone-interview-20140313?page=5|title=Bill Gates: The Rolling Stone Interview|last=Goodell|first=Jeff|date=March 27, 2014|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=April 14, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509035553/http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/bill-gates-the-rolling-stone-interview-20140313?page=5|archive-date=May 9, 2014}}</ref>

=== Wealth ===
When Microsoft went public in 1986, Gates retained 44.9% ownership of the company.<ref name="bender19860210">{{Cite magazine |last=Bender |first=Eric |date=1986-02-10 |title=Microsoft stock goes public; sale marks firm's maturity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VIcNk5bRkEC&pg=PA170 |access-date=2025-06-08 |magazine=Computerworld |pages=170, 168 |volume=XX |issue=6}}</ref> In 1987, he was listed as a billionaire in ''[[Forbes]]'' magazine's first [[Forbes 400|America's richest]] issue; Gates was the world's youngest-ever self-made billionaire, with a net worth of $1.25&nbsp;billion. Since then, he has been featured on [[The World's Billionaires]] list and was ranked as the richest person in 1995, 1996, 1998–2007, and 2009, maintaining the position until 2018, when [[Jeff Bezos]] surpassed his wealth. Gates was ranked first on the [[Forbes 400|''Forbes'' 400]] list of wealthiest Americans from 1993 to 2007, in 2009, and from 2014 to 2017.<ref name="Wahba">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN1748882920080917|title=Bill Gates tops US wealth list 15 years continuously|last=Wahba|first=Phil|date=September 17, 2008|access-date=November 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218124744/http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN1748882920080917|archive-date=December 18, 2008|url-status=live|work=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2018/01/09/heres-why-jeff-bezos-is-not-truly-the-richest-person-in-history/#5671ba7d1f06|title=Here's Why Jeff Bezos Is Not Truly The Richest Person In History|last=Kirsch|first=Noah|magazine=Forbes|access-date=January 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111110318/https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2018/01/09/heres-why-jeff-bezos-is-not-truly-the-richest-person-in-history/#5671ba7d1f06|archive-date=January 11, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[Forbes]]'', as of February 17, 2025, Gates' estimated net worth stood at US$108.8 billion, making him the 16th richest individual in the world.<ref name=Forbes>{{Cite magazine|title=Bill Gates|url=https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/ |magazine=Forbes|access-date=February 17, 2025}}</ref>

Gates's wealth briefly surpassed US$100 billion in 1999, making him the first person to reach this net worth.<ref>{{harvnb|Fridson|2001|p=113}}</ref><ref name="zuckerman19971027">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/27/business/new-jet-eases-travel-hassles-for-bill-gates.html | title=New Jet Eases Travel Hassles For Bill Gates|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 27, 1997| access-date=May 20, 2021 | author=Zuckerman, Laurence | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120905015017/http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/27/business/new-jet-eases-travel-hassles-for-bill-gates.html | archive-date=September 5, 2012 | url-status=live }}</ref> After 2000, the nominal value of his Microsoft holdings declined, partly because of the decline in Microsoft's stock price after the [[dot-com bubble]] burst, and partly because of the multi-billion dollar donations he had made to his charitable foundations. In May 2006, Gates remarked that he wished that he was not the richest man in the world, because he disliked the attention that it brought.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bolger|first=Joe|date=May 5, 2006|title=I wish I was not the richest man in the world, says Bill Gates|work=The Times|url =http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/united_states/article713434.ece|access-date=March 31, 2008|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080923194553/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/united_states/article713434.ece|archive-date=September 23, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> In March 2010, Gates was the second wealthiest person after [[Carlos Slim]], but regained the top position in 2013, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.<ref name="Bloom">{{cite magazine|title=Bill Gates Retakes World's Richest Title From Carlos Slim |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/|magazine=Forbes|access-date=May 30, 2013|last1=Cuadros|first1=Alex|last2=Harrison|first2=Crayton|date=May 17, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100924110301/http://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates|archive-date=September 24, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/bill-gates-regains-worlds-richest-man-title-forbes/articleshow/31353120.cms|work=The Economic Times| title=Bill Gates regains world's richest man title: Forbes|date=March 3, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914002942/http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/bill-gates-regains-worlds-richest-man-title-forbes/articleshow/31353120.cms|archive-date=September 14, 2016}}</ref> Slim regained the position again in June 2014<ref name="wealthy list">{{cite news|url = https://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires |title = Forbes Billionaires list|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111203144229/http://www.forbes.com/wealth/billionaires|archive-date =December 3, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="New wealthiest man">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2014/07/15/mexicos-carlos-slim-reclaims-worlds-richest-man-title-from-bill-gates/ | title=Mexico's Carlos Slim Reclaims World's Richest Man Title From Bill Gates | magazine=Forbes|date=June 7, 2014|access-date=September 1, 2014| author=Estevez, Dolia|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140901151225/http://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2014/07/15/mexicos-carlos-slim-reclaims-worlds-richest-man-title-from-bill-gates/|archive-date=September 1, 2014}}</ref> (but then lost the top position back to Gates). Between 2009 and 2014, his wealth doubled from US$40&nbsp;billion to US$82&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The World's Billionaires|magazine=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/|access-date=November 30, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129074957/http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/|archive-date=November 29, 2014}}</ref> In October 2017, Gates was surpassed by [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] founder [[Jeff Bezos]] as the richest person in the world.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/10/27/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-is-the-richest-person-in-the-world-again/|title=Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Is The Richest Person In The World-Again|magazine=Forbes|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311082026/https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/10/27/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-is-the-richest-person-in-the-world-again/|archive-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref> In the ''Forbes'' 400 list of wealthiest Americans in 2023, he was ranked sixth with a wealth of $115.0&nbsp;billion.<!-- Do not update his net worth everyday – stick to once a week at most. --><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Bill Gates|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/?list=forbes-400&sh=5cdb2707689f|magazine=Forbes|date=October 2023|access-date=October 6, 2023|archive-date=October 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007142138/https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/?list=forbes-400&sh=5cdb2707689f|url-status=live}}</ref> He once again became the richest person in the world in November 2019 after a 48% increase in Microsoft shares, surpassing Bezos.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2019/11/16/bill-gates-regains-spot-as-worlds-richest-person/|title=Bill Gates regains spot as world's richest person over Jeff Bezos|last=Feuerherd|first=Ben|date=November 16, 2019|work=New York Post|access-date=November 19, 2019|archive-date=November 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116075931/https://nypost.com/2019/11/16/bill-gates-regains-spot-as-worlds-richest-person/|url-status=live}}</ref> Gates told the [[BBC]], "I've paid more tax than any individual ever, and gladly so&nbsp;... I've paid over $6 billion in taxes."<ref>{{cite web |title=Newsnight Interview |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-25873306/bill-gates-us-should-pay-more-tax/|work=BBC News|access-date=August 23, 2017|date=January 24, 2014|url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170823202858/http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-25873306/bill-gates-us-should-pay-more-tax|archive-date=August 23, 2017}}</ref> He is a proponent of higher taxes, particularly for the rich.<ref>{{cite news|title=US Should Pay More Tax |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-28/bill-gates-says-rich-should-pay-more-taxes/4718650/ |work=ABC|access-date=August 23, 2017 |date=May 28, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707113753/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-28/bill-gates-says-rich-should-pay-more-taxes/4718650 |archive-date=July 7, 2017}}</ref>

Gates has several investments outside Microsoft, which in 2006 paid him a salary of US$616,667 and a bonus of US$350,000, for a total of US$966,667.<ref>{{cite web|title=Microsoft 2006 Proxy Statement |url=http://www.microsoft.com/msft/reports/proxy2006.mspx |publisher=Microsoft|date=October 6, 2007|access-date=February 14, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080219022338/http://www.microsoft.com/msft/reports/proxy2006.mspx|archive-date=February 19, 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1989, he founded [[Branded Entertainment Network|Corbis]], a digital imaging company. In 2004, he became a board member of [[Berkshire Hathaway]], the investment company headed by long-time friend [[Warren Buffett]]. Buffet and Gates met with [[Chuck Feeney]] who gave away his fortune at lifetime. <ref>{{cite web|last=Fried|first=Ina|date=December 14, 2004|title=Gates joins board of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/gates-joins-board-of-buffetts-berkshire-hathaway/ |website=[[CNET]]|access-date=March 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230321025933/https://www.cnet.com/web/20230321025933/https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/gates-joins-board-of-buffetts-berkshire-hathaway/| archive-date=March 21, 2023|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Alexander |first=Dan |title=Warren Buffett Honors His Hero, The Billionaire Who Secretly Gave It All Away |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/danalexander/2014/06/18/warren-buffett-honors-his-hero-the-billionaire-who-secretly-gave-it-all-away/ |access-date=2026-05-27 |website=Forbes |language=en}}</ref>

== Controversies ==
{{Controversy section|date=April 2026}}
=== Antitrust litigation ===
{{further|United States v. Microsoft Corp.|l1=''United States v. Microsoft Corp.''|Microsoft Corp. v European Commission|l2=''Microsoft Corp. v European Commission''}}
[[File:US v. Microsoft Bill Gates Color.png|thumb|Gates giving his deposition at Microsoft on August 27, 1998]]

During his tenure as CEO of Microsoft, Gates approved of many decisions that led to [[United States antitrust law|antitrust]] litigation over Microsoft's business practices. In 1998's ''[[United States v. Microsoft Corp.]]'', Gates gave [[deposition (law)|deposition]] testimony that several journalists characterized as evasive. He argued with examiner [[David Boies]] over the contextual meaning of words such as "compete", "concerned", and "we". Later in the year, when portions of the videotaped deposition were played back in court, the judge was seen laughing and shaking his head.<ref name="GatesDepositionJudgeLaugh">{{cite news |last=Wasserman |first=Elizabeth |date=November 17, 1998 |title=Gates deposition makes judge laugh in court |work=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9811/17/judgelaugh.ms.idg/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=April 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407052251/http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9811/17/judgelaugh.ms.idg/index.html |archive-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref> ''BusinessWeek'' reported:

{{blockquote|Early rounds of his deposition show him offering obfuscatory answers and saying "I don't recall" so many times that even the presiding judge had to chuckle. Worse, many of the technology chief's denials and pleas of ignorance were directly refuted by prosecutors with snippets of e-mail that Gates both sent and received.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=March 30, 2008 |url=http://www.businessweek.com/1998/48/b3606125.htm |title=Microsoft's Teflon Bill |work=BusinessWeek |date=November 30, 1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080407081113/http://www.businessweek.com/1998/48/b3606125.htm |archive-date=April 7, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}

Gates later said that he had simply resisted attempts by Boies to mischaracterize his words and actions. "Did I fence with Boies?&nbsp;... I plead guilty&nbsp;... rudeness to Boies in the first degree."<ref name="truth">{{cite magazine |last1=Heilemann |first1=John |date=November 1, 2000 |title=The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But The Truth |url=http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/8.11/microsoft.html |url-status=dead |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |volume=8 |issue=11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528131641/http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/8.11/microsoft.html |archive-date=May 28, 2014 |access-date=March 31, 2008}}</ref> Despite Gates's denials, the judge ruled that Microsoft had committed [[monopolization]], [[tying (commerce)|tying]] and blocking competition, each in violation of the [[Sherman Antitrust Act]].<ref name="truth" />

=== Treatment of colleagues and employees ===
{{blockquote|Some Microsoft employees, including key executives, have begun to act, speak, and sometimes look a bit like Gates. They may rock in their chairs, as if they were ready to go somewhere, or end each sentence by elongating the last word.|''Computerworld'', 1987<ref name="barney19871102">{{Cite magazine |last=Barney |first=Douglas |date=1987-11-02 |title=All in a day's work |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUSIMiurpfYC&pg=PP85 |access-date=2025-06-08 |magazine=Computerworld |page=SR19 |volume=XXI |issue=44}}</ref>}}

{{blockquote|In my [early 1990s] BillG review meeting, the whole reporting hierarchy was there, along with their cousins, sisters, and aunts, and a person who came along from my team whose whole job during the meeting was to keep an accurate count of how many times Bill said the [[fuck|F word]]. The lower the f***-count, the better ... [After the meeting] "Four," announced the f*** counter, and everyone said, "wow, that's the lowest I can remember. Bill is getting mellow in his old age." He was, you know, 36.|[[Joel Spolsky]], 2006|{{r|spolsky20060616}}}}

Gates gained a reputation for being distant from others; an industry executive complained in 1981 that "Gates is notorious for not being reachable by phone and for not returning phone calls".<ref name="freiberger19810831">{{cite magazine |last=Freiberger |first=Paul |date=August 31, 1981 |title=Bugs in Radio Shack TRS-80 Model III: How Bad Are They? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rD0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA49 |url-status=live |magazine=[[InfoWorld]] |page=49 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902132455/https://books.google.com/books?id=rD0EAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA44&pg=PA49 |archive-date=September 2, 2016 |access-date=February 28, 2011}}</ref> He saw competition in personal terms; when [[Borland]]'s [[Turbo Pascal]] performed better than Microsoft's own tools, he yelled at programming director [[Greg Whitten]] "for half an hour" because, Gates believed, Borland's [[Philippe Kahn]] had surpassed Gates.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wallace |first1=James |last2=Erickson |first2=Jim |title=Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire |year=1992 |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |isbn=0-471-56886-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/harddrivebillgat00wall_0/page/277 277]-278 |chapter=Growing Pains |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/harddrivebillgat00wall_0/page/277 }}</ref> An Atari executive recalled that he showed Gates a game and defeated him 35 of 37 times. When they met again a month later, Gates "won or tied every game. He had studied the game until he solved it. That is a competitor".<ref name="Atari Thorlin Interview 2000">{{cite interview |last=Thorlin |first=Fred |interviewer=Kevin Savetz |title=Fred Thorlin: The Big Boss at Atari Program Exchange |url=http://www.atariarchives.org/APX/thorlininterview.php |access-date=December 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101040619/http://www.atariarchives.org/APX/thorlininterview.php |archive-date=January 1, 2013 |url-status=live |publisher=Atari archives |date=April 2000}}</ref>

In the early 1980s, while business partner Paul Allen was undergoing treatments for [[cancer]], Gates—according to Allen—conspired to reduce Allen's share in Microsoft by issuing himself stock options.<ref name="alforbes">{{cite news |last1=Allen |first1=Frederick |date=March 30, 2011 |title=Bill Gates Tried to Screw Paul Allen? What's the Surprise? |work=[[Forbes]] |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickallen/2011/03/30/bill-gates-tried-to-screw-paul-allen-whats-the-surprise/ |access-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522182125/https://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickallen/2011/03/30/bill-gates-tried-to-screw-paul-allen-whats-the-surprise/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="acarr">{{cite news |last1=Carr |first1=Austin |date=May 21, 2021 |title=Bill Gates's Carefully Curated Geek Image Unravels in Two Weeks |work=[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-21/bill-gates-s-carefully-curated-dad-geek-image-unravels-in-two-weeks?srnd=premium&sref=i4qXzk6d |access-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522003458/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-21/bill-gates-s-carefully-curated-dad-geek-image-unravels-in-two-weeks?srnd=premium&sref=i4qXzk6d |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="hkcnn">{{cite news |last1=Kelly |first1=Heather |date=October 17, 2018 |title=Paul Allen's battle with Bill Gates defined his legacy |work=[[CNN]] |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/17/tech/paul-allen-microsoft-legacy/index.html |access-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-date=May 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522182122/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/10/17/tech/paul-allen-microsoft-legacy/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In his autobiography, Allen would later recall that Gates was "scheming to rip me off. It was mercenary opportunism plain and simple".<ref name="alforbes" /> Gates says he remembers the episode differently.<ref name="acarr" /> Allen would also recall that Gates was prone to shouting episodes.<ref name="hkcnn" />

By 1987 ''[[Computerworld]]'' quoted an industry observer who said "Bill personifies Microsoft, and hotshots want to work for him".{{r|barney19871102}} [[Joel Spolsky]] recalled how, when presenting [[Visual Basic for Applications]] for approval in the early 1990s, Gates had in one night read the [[technical specification]] of 500 pages and written notes on every page: "You couldn't bullshit him for a minute because he was a programmer. A real, actual, programmer".<ref name="spolsky20060616">{{Cite web |last=Spolsky |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Spolsky |date=June 16, 2006 |title=My First BillG Review |url=https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/06/16/my-first-billg-review/ |access-date=2025-11-22 |website=Joel on Software |language=en-US}}</ref>

Gates has often been accused of bullying Microsoft employees.<ref name="bbc5/8/2021">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58099778 "Epstein meetings a huge mistake, says Bill Gates"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330032153/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58099778 |date=March 30, 2022 }}. [[BBC]].</ref> He met regularly with Microsoft's senior managers and program managers, and the managers described him as being verbally combative, berating them for perceived holes in their business strategies or proposals that placed the company's long-term interests at risk.<ref name="rensin">{{cite magazine |last=Rensin |first=David |year=1994 |title=The Bill Gates Interview |magazine=Playboy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Ballmer |first=Steve |date=October 9, 1997 |title=Steve Ballmer Speech Transcript&nbsp;– Church Hill Club |url=http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/steve/churchillclub.mspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420152806/http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/steve/churchillclub.mspx |archive-date=April 20, 2008 |access-date=March 31, 2008 |publisher=Microsoft}}</ref> Gates interrupted presentations with such comments as "that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard"<ref name="time GOS">{{cite news |last=Isaacson |first=Walter |date=January 13, 1997 |title=The Gates Operating System |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://www.time.com/time/gates/gates5.html |url-status=dead |access-date=March 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000619090559/http://www.time.com/time/gates/gates5.html |archive-date=June 19, 2000}}</ref> and "why don't you just give up your [[Employee stock option|options]] and join the [[Peace Corps]]?"<ref>{{cite web |last=Bank |first=David |date=February 1, 1999 |title=Breaking Windows |url=http://www.breakingwindows.net/1link3.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416032811/http://www.breakingwindows.net/1link3.htm |archive-date=April 16, 2016 |access-date=March 31, 2008 |work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> The target of his outburst would then have to defend the proposal in detail until Gates was fully convinced.<ref name="time GOS" /> Spolsky recalled being told after his presentation to Gates:{{r|spolsky20060616}}

{{quote|Bill doesn't really want to review your spec, he just wants to make sure you've got it under control. His standard M.O. is to ask harder and harder questions until you admit that you don't know, and then he can yell at you for being unprepared.}}

Not all harsh language was criticism; a manager recalled that "You're full of shit. That's the stupidest fucking thing I've ever heard" meant that Gates was amazed. "In the lore of Microsoft, if Bill says that to you, you're made".<ref name="smith20230226">{{Cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Matthew S. |date=February 26, 2023 |title=Flight Simulator Gave Birth to 3D Video-Game Graphics |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/microsoft-flight-simulator |magazine=IEEE Spectrum |language=en |access-date=February 28, 2023 |archive-date=February 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227112044/https://spectrum.ieee.org/microsoft-flight-simulator |url-status=live }}</ref> When subordinates appeared to be procrastinating, he was known to remark sarcastically, "I'll do it over the weekend".<ref name="chapman">{{cite news |last=Chapman |first=Glenn |date=June 27, 2008 |title=Bill Gates Signs Off |agency=Agence France-Presse |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i8aV1bK5vmwLaw9wYr9nY5bFc4YA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630070506/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i8aV1bK5vmwLaw9wYr9nY5bFc4YA |archive-date=June 30, 2008}}</ref><ref name="pdc97" /><ref name="herbold">{{cite book |last=Herbold |first=Robert |url=https://archive.org/details/fiefdomsyndromet00herb |title=The Fiefdom Syndrome: The Turf Battles That Undermine Careers and Companies&nbsp;– And How to Overcome Them |year=2004 |publisher=Currency Doubleday |isbn=0-385-51067-5}}</ref>

=== Connection with Jeffrey Epstein ===
{{see also|List of people named in the Epstein files}}

A 2019 ''[[New York Times]]'' article reported that Gates's relationship with financier [[Jeffrey Epstein]] started in 2011, a few years after Epstein was convicted for procuring a [[Child prostitution|child for prostitution]], and continued for some years, including a visit to Epstein's house with his wife in the fall of 2013, despite her declared discomfort.<ref name="Flitter-2019">{{Cite web |last1=Flitter |first1=Emily |last2=Stewart |first2=James B. |date=October 12, 2019 |title=Bill Gates Met With Jeffrey Epstein Many Times, Despite His Past |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/business/jeffrey-epstein-bill-gates.html |url-access=limited |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220101/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/12/business/jeffrey-epstein-bill-gates.html |archive-date=January 1, 2022 |work=The New York Times}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Gates said in 2011 about Epstein: "His lifestyle is very different and kind of intriguing although it would not work for me".<ref name="Flitter" />
[[File:Bill Gates (from left), Terje Rød-Larsen, Jeffrey Epstein, Boris Nikolic (advisor to Gates) and Thorbjørn Jagland.jpg|thumb|Gates (''left'') with [[Jeffrey Epstein]] (''center'') in 2018]]
The depth of the friendship between Gates and Epstein is unclear though Gates generally commented that "I met him. I didn't have any business relationship or friendship with him".<ref name="Guardian">Martin Pengelly & Rupert Neate (May 10, 2021), [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/may/10/melinda-bill-gates-divorce-jeffrey-epstein-meetings "Melinda Gates began divorce moves at time Bill's meetings with Jeffrey Epstein revealed"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511000431/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/may/10/melinda-bill-gates-divorce-jeffrey-epstein-meetings |date=May 11, 2021 }}, ''The Guardian:'' "Her meeting with divorce lawyers in October 2019 is said to have taken place at roughly the same time as a New York Times article detailed Bill's meetings with Epstein, which included an overnight stay at Epstein's New York mansion."</ref> However, Gates visited Epstein "many times, despite [Epstein's] past".<ref name="Flitter-2019" /> It was reported that Epstein and Gates "discussed the Gates Foundation and philanthropy".<ref name="Flitter-2019" /> Gates stated "Every meeting where I was with him were meetings with men. I was never at any parties or anything like that. He never donated any money to anything that I know about."<ref name="Guardian" /> In August 2021, Gates said the reason he had meetings with Epstein was because Gates hoped Epstein could provide money for philanthropic work, though nothing came of the idea. Gates added, "It was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there."<ref name="bbc5/8/2021" /> Gates came under further scrutiny after it was revealed that he had travelled on Epstein's private jet, the Lolita Express, though further claims about Gates travelling to [[Little Saint James]] proved unsubstantiated.

It has also been reported that Epstein and Gates met with [[Nobel Committee]] chair [[Thorbjørn Jagland]] at his residence in [[Strasbourg]], France, in March 2013 to discuss the [[Nobel Prize]].<ref>Tore Gjerstad & Gard Oterholm (October 2, 2020), [https://www.dn.no/magasinet/dokumentar/jeffrey-epstein/thorbjorn-jagland/terje-rod-larsen/bill-gates-and-jeffrey-epstein-met-with-nobel-committee-chair/2-1-885834 "Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein met with Nobel Committee chair"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923141554/https://www.dn.no/magasinet/dokumentar/jeffrey-epstein/thorbjorn-jagland/terje-rod-larsen/bill-gates-and-jeffrey-epstein-met-with-nobel-committee-chair/2-1-885834 |date=September 23, 2022 }}, ''[[Dagens Næringsliv]] Magasinet:'' "Not only did [[Thorbjørn Jagland|[Thorbjørn] Jagland]] meet Epstein, he hosted him at his lavish residence in [[Strasbourg, France]]. At the time, Jagland was the sitting chair of the committee, which awards the prestigious [[Nobel Peace Prize]]. Also present: a [[philanthropist]] [Gates] touted as a possible Prize recipient."</ref> Also in attendance were representatives of the [[International Peace Institute]] which has received millions in grants from the [[Gates Foundation]], including a $2.5 million "community engagement" grant in October 2013.<ref>(October 2013), [https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/committed-grants/2013/10/opp1100586 "International Peace Institute, Inc."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923141600/https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/committed-grants/2013/10/opp1100586 |date=September 23, 2022 }}, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation</ref> In 2023, it was reported that Epstein threatened to expose an alleged affair Gates had with a Russian [[Contract bridge|bridge]] player.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Safdar |first1=Khadeeja |last2=Glazer |first2=Emily |date=May 21, 2023 |title=Jeffrey Epstein Appeared to Threaten Bill Gates Over Microsoft Co-Founder's Affair With Russian Bridge Player |language=en-US |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeffrey-epstein-bill-gates-affair-russian-bridge-player-8b2022ff |access-date=May 22, 2023 |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=May 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230522002146/https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeffrey-epstein-bill-gates-affair-russian-bridge-player-8b2022ff |url-status=live }}</ref>

In December 2025, Gates appeared in two photos released by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee from documents in [[Estate of Jeffrey Epstein|Jeffrey Epstein's estate]]. These photos were part of thousands of other files ordered to be released pursuant to the [[Epstein Files Transparency Act]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-12 |title=Bill Gates appears in newly released photos from Epstein estate |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/12/bill-gates-appears-in-newly-released-photos-from-epstein-estate-00688695 |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=New Epstein photos from House Democrats show high-profile figures, island plans and passports |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cx231lml3nyt |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-12 |title=House Democrats release more photos from Jeffrey Epstein's estate |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/new-epstein-photos-show-trump-clinton-bill-gates-woody-allen-steve-ban-rcna248819 |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref>

In January 2026, unsealed Epstein files revealed two 2013 draft emails by Epstein alleging Gates' extramarital affairs with "Russian girls" and "married women", resulting in him contracting an [[STD]], and that an associate secretly obtained antibiotics for Melinda Gates while facilitating encounters.<ref name="Epstein-Notes-Extramarital">{{Cite news |issn=0362-4331 |last1=Silver-Greenberg |first1=Jessica |last2=Davenport |first2=Coral |title=Epstein Notes Suggested Bill Gates Engaged in Extramarital Sex |work=The New York Times |access-date=2026-02-09 |date=2026-01-30 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/us/bill-gates-epstein.html }}</ref><ref name="BI2026">{{Cite web |date=January 2026 |title=Bill Gates Denies Epstein Files Allegations of STD and Surreptitious Antibiotics |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-denies-epstein-files-allegations-std-surreptitious-antibiotics-2026-1 |work=Business Insider}}</ref> The emails accused Gates of ending their friendship after a failed Gates Foundation–JPMorgan deal and mentioned Epstein's resignation amid marital disputes and inappropriate activities.<ref name="Epstein-Notes-Extramarital" /> Unclear if sent and uncorroborated,<ref name="BI2026" /> the allegations were denied by Gates' spokesperson as "absolutely absurd and completely false", stemming from Epstein's frustration and efforts to "entrap and defame".<ref name="Epstein-Notes-Extramarital" /><ref name="BI2026" /> It was also revealed that the emails by Epstein which involved discussion about Gates possibly contracting an STD and in need of antibiotics were in fact written on behalf of Boris Nikolić, an aggrieved employee of Gates who served as the Gates Foundation's chief advisor of science and technology, and was also planning to resign.<ref name=borisnikolic>{{cite news |url=https://people.com/bill-gates-denies-completely-false-claims-in-jeffrey-epstein-emails-that-he-contracted-an-sti-from-russian-girls-11896799 |title=Bill Gates Denies 'Completely False' Claims in Jeffrey Epstein Emails That He Contracted an STI from 'Russian Girls' |first=Clamo |last=Flam |magazine=People |date=January 31, 2026|accessdate=February 1, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/epstein-files-released-doj-2026/ |title=Epstein makes unverified claim that Bill Gates contracted STD from extramarital sex and required antibiotics |first=Laura |last=Dern |website=CBS News |date=January 30, 2026 |accessdate=February 1, 2026}}</ref> Nikolic resigned from the Gates Foundation in 2014,<ref name=borisnikolic /> and would also go on to serve as an executor to Epstein's estate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/who-is-boris-nikolic-epstein-executor|title = Who is Boris Nikolic? Epstein-named executor is former Bill Gates adviser|website = [[Fox Business]]|date = 20 August 2019}}</ref>

In February 2026, Gates cancelled his scheduled keynote address at the [[India AI Impact Summit 2026|India AI Impact Summit]] hours before it was due to take place. According to multiple news reports, the withdrawal came amid renewed public scrutiny over his past associations with Jeffrey Epstein, although the Gates Foundation stated the decision was made to ensure the summit remained focused on its core priorities.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kulish |first=Nicholas |date=2026-02-19 |title=Bill Gates Cancels Speech in India Amid Epstein Controversy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/business/bill-gates-epstein-india-ai-summit.html |access-date=2026-02-21 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Butts |first=Dylan |date=2026-02-19 |title=Amid Epstein fallout, Bill Gates becomes point of controversy at India AI summit |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/19/amid-epstein-fallout-bill-gates-becomes-point-of-controversy-at-india-ai-summit-.html |access-date=2026-02-21 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Booth |first=Robert |date=2026-02-19 |title=Bill Gates cancels keynote speech in India amid questions over Epstein ties |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/19/bill-gates-cancels-india-ai-impact-summit-keynote-speech-epstein-files |access-date=2026-02-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-19 |title=Bill Gates pulls out of India's AI summit over Epstein files controversy |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c309qv9zglno |access-date=2026-02-21 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== 2025 climate memo ===
In October 2025, Gates issued a statement saying that climate change does not pose [[Climate change and civilizational collapse|an existential threat to civilization]], stating that while it remains a serious problem, it was more important to give money to other causes such as solving poverty and improving healthcare. The statement was criticized by climate scientists, who stated that many of the issues Gates described as more of a priority result from climate change. [[Katharine Hayhoe]] said: "Climate change is not a separate bucket...The reason we care about climate change is that it's the hole in every bucket." According to prominent climate scientist [[Michael E. Mann]]: "There is no greater threat to developing nations than the climate crisis...He's got this all backwards."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Goldman |first1=David |title=Bill Gates makes a stunning claim about climate change |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/28/business/bill-gates-climate-change |access-date=2 November 2025 |website=CNN |date=28 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Harder |first1=Amy |title=How Bill Gates is reframing the climate change debate |url=https://www.axios.com/2025/10/30/bill-gates-climate-change-warning |website=Axios |date=October 30, 2025 |access-date=2 November 2025}}</ref>

Gates's statement was received by some [[Climate change denial|climate change deniers]] as proof that climate change is a "hoax". [[Donald Trump]] reacted by posting on social media that he had "just won the War on the Climate Change Hoax" because Gates had "finally admitted that he was completely WRONG on the issue." Gates responded to Trump's statement saying that it was "a gigantic misreading of the memo", telling ''[[Axios (website)|Axios]]'' that he would actually increase his spending on climate and health.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Musto |first1=Julia |title=Bill Gates hits back at Trump after climate memo response: 'It's a gigantic misreading' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/bill-gates-climate-change-memo-b2858293.html |access-date=6 November 2025 |newspaper=The Independent}}</ref>

The memo came a day after the United Nations said humanity had missed the [[1.5-degree target]] and warning of "devastating consequences", some of which are linked to [[Tipping points in the climate system|tipping points]], like in [[Tipping_points_in_the_climate_system#Amazon_rainforest_dieback|the Amazon]], [[Tipping_points_in_the_climate_system#Greenland_ice_sheet_disintegration|Greenland]], [[Tipping_points_in_the_climate_system#West_Antarctic_ice_sheet_disintegration|Western Antarctica]], and coral reefs.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bill Gates says climate crisis won't cause 'humanity's demise' in call to shift focus to 'improving lives' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/28/bill-gates-climate-crisis-pivot |access-date=3 November 2025 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 October 2025}}</ref> The memo was also released around the same time [[Hurricane Melissa]], strengthened by climate change, struck the Caribbean islands<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Pahwa |first1=Nitish |title=Respectfully, Bill Gates Should Shut Up |url=https://slate.com/technology/2025/10/bill-gates-climate-change-hurricane-melissa.html |website=Slate |publisher=The Slate Group LLC |access-date=3 November 2025}}</ref> whose damage was calculated as costing [[Jamaica]] alone 30%–250% of its annual GDP.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wells |first1=Kane |title=Economic impact of Melissa could reach 30–250% of Jamaica's GDP: BMS |url=https://www.reinsurancene.ws/economic-impact-of-melissa-could-reach-30-250-of-jamaicas-gdp-bms/ |website=Reinsurance news |date=October 29, 2025 |access-date=3 November 2025}}</ref> The situation was worsened by the hurricane affecting countries whose citizens are affected by the [[Deportation in the second Trump administration|second Trump administration's deportation program]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Saunders |first1=Forrest |title=Calls grow for U.S. to offer temporary protected status after Hurricane Melissa devastates Jamaica |url=https://www.wtxl.com/news/capitol-news/calls-grow-for-u-s-to-offer-temporary-protected-status-after-hurricane-melissa-devastates-jamaica |access-date=3 November 2025 |website=WTXL Tallahassee |date=31 October 2025}}</ref> with analysts saying that the storm could increase migration.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=García |first1=Ivis |editor-first1=Stacy |editor-last1=Morford |title=4 urgent lessons for Jamaica from Puerto Rico's troubled hurricane recovery – and how the Jamaican diaspora could help after Melissa |url=https://theconversation.com/4-urgent-lessons-for-jamaica-from-puerto-ricos-troubled-hurricane-recovery-and-how-the-jamaican-diaspora-could-help-after-melissa-268631 |website=The Conversation |doi=10.64628/AAI.gkpgevmky |access-date=3 November 2025|doi-access=free }}</ref> Approximately at the same time, a peer-reviewed climate report warned that "we are hurtling toward climate chaos",<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dove Mark |first1=Jason |title=The Billionaires Won't Save Us |url=https://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/bill-gates-wont-save-us-from-the-climate-crisis/P6 |website=Eartrh Island Journal |access-date=6 November 2025}}</ref> and the number of scientific studies warning of societal collapse from climate change around said time was also rising.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carrington |first1=Damian |title=Earth's 'vital signs' show humanity's future in balance, say climate experts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/08/earths-vital-signs-show-humanitys-future-in-balance-say-climate-experts |access-date=3 November 2025 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=8 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ripple |first1=William J. |last2=Wolf |first2=Christopher |last3=Gregg |first3=Jillian W. |last4=Rockström |first4=Johan |last5=Mann |first5=Michael E. |last6=Oreskes |first6=Naomi |last7=Lenton |first7=Timothy M. |last8=Rahmstorf |first8=Stefan |last9=Newsome |first9=Thomas M. |last10=Xu |first10=Chi |last11=Svenning |first11=Jens-Christian |last12=Pereira |first12=Cássio Cardoso |last13=Law |first13=Beverly E. |last14=Crowther |first14=Thomas W. |title=The 2024 state of the climate report: Perilous times on planet Earth |journal=BioScience |date=8 October 2024 |volume=74 |issue=12 |pages=812–824 |doi=10.1093/biosci/biae087 |url=https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/74/12/812/7808595?login=false |access-date=3 November 2025}}</ref>

== Awards and recognition ==
[[File:President Obama Awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom.webm|thumb|thumbtime=39:55.5|start=38:41.5|end=40:05.5|Bill and Melinda Gates being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then President [[Barack Obama]] in 2016]]

* ''Time'' magazine listed Gates as [[Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century|one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century]] in 1999, as well as [[Time 100|one of the 100 most influential people]] in 2004, 2005, and 2006 respectively.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Grossman |first=Lev|date=April 18, 2005|title=The 2005 Time 100|magazine=Time|url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972717_1974038,00.html|access-date=November 2, 2021 |issn=0040-781X|archive-date=October 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020140651/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1972656_1972717_1974038,00.html|url-status=live }}</ref>
* ''Time'' also collectively named Gates, his wife Melinda and U2's lead singer [[Bono]] as the 2005 [[Time Person of the Year|Persons of the Year]] for their humanitarian efforts.<ref>{{harvnb|Lesinski|2006|p=102}}</ref> In 2006, he was voted eighth in the list of "Heroes of our time" published by ''[[New Statesman]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cowley, Jason |date=June 22, 2006 |title=Heroes of our time&nbsp;– the top 50 |work=New Statesman|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200605220016 |url-status=dead |access-date=February 17, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231104453/http://www.newstatesman.com/200605220016|archive-date=December 31, 2007}}</ref>
* Gates was listed in the ''[[Sunday Times]]'' power list in 1999, named CEO of the year by ''Chief Executive Officers'' magazine in 1994, ranked number one in the "Top 50 Cyber Elite" by ''Time'' in 1998, ranked number two in the ''[[Upside (magazine)|Upside]]'' Elite 100 in 1999, and was also included in ''[[The Guardian]]'' as one of the "Top 100 influential people in media" in 2001.<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 26, 1999|title=Gates 'second only to Blair'|work=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/457951.stm|url-status=live|access-date=March 30, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229025050/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/457951.stm |archive-date=December 29, 2008}}</ref>
* Gates has received honorary doctorates from [[Nyenrode Business Universiteit]] (1996),<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 4, 1996 |title=Gates krijgt eredoctoraat Nijenrode|language=nl|publisher=Computable |url=https://www.computable.nl/artikel/nieuws/ict-branche/204797/250449/gates-krijgt-eredoctoraat-nijenrode.html|access-date=January 1, 2022|archive-date=December 31, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231231033/https://www.computable.nl/artikel/nieuws/ict-branche/204797/250449/gates-krijgt-eredoctoraat-nijenrode.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[KTH Royal Institute of Technology]] (2002),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorary doctors at KTH |url=http://www.kth.se/en/om/fakta/fame/hedersdoktorer/hedersdoktorer-vid-kth-1.3974 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417073005/http://www.kth.se/en/om/fakta/fame/hedersdoktorer/hedersdoktorer-vid-kth-1.3974 |archive-date=April 17, 2015 |access-date=January 19, 2015 |website=About KTH |publisher=KTH Royal Institute of Technology |location=Stockholm}}</ref> [[Waseda University]] (2005),<ref>[https://www.waseda.jp/top/en/about/history History of the University] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007174405/https://www.waseda.jp/top/en/about/history |date=October 7, 2020 }} – website of the [[Waseda University]]</ref> [[Tsinghua University]] (2007),<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 19, 2007|title=Bill Gates Awarded Honorary Doctorate of Tsinghua |url=http://news.tsinghua.edu.cn/eng__news.php?id=1370 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707030916/http://news.tsinghua.edu.cn/eng__news.php?id=1370|archive-date=July 7, 2011|access-date=June 9, 2010 |publisher=Tsinghua University}}</ref> Harvard University (2007),<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hughes, Gina|date=June 8, 2007|title=Bill Gates Gets Degree After 30 Years |publisher=Yahoo! |url=https://tech.yahoo.com/blog/hughes/13653 |url-status=dead|access-date=February 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227044031/http://tech.yahoo.com/blog/hughes/13653 |archive-date=December 27, 2007}}</ref> the [[Karolinska Institute]] (2007),<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 22, 2013 |title=Karolinska Institutet Medicine hedersdoktorer 1910-2013 |trans-title=Honorary doctors of medicine at the Karolinska Institute 1910–2013 |url=http://ki.se/sites/default/files/hedersdoktorer_130522.pdf |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501122820/http://ki.se/sites/default/files/hedersdoktorer_130522.pdf|archive-date=May 1, 2015|access-date=January 19, 2015|publisher=Karolinska Institutet|language=sv}}</ref> the [[University of Cambridge]] (2009),<ref name="cam">{{Cite news |last=Anon |date=2009 |title=The Chancellor in Cambridge to confer Honorary Degrees |work=cam.ac.uk |publisher=University of Cambridge |url=http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2009061204|url-status=dead|access-date=August 20, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817065342/http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/news/dp/2009061204|archive-date=August 17, 2009}}</ref> and [[Northern Arizona University]] (2023).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Anon |year=2023 |title=NAU to recognize four exceptional leaders with an honorary doctorate during spring commencement ceremonies |url=https://news.nau.edu/2023-spring-commencement/ |access-date=May 1, 2023|website=nau.edu |publisher=Northern Arizona University|archive-date=June 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609185538/https://news.nau.edu/2023-spring-commencement/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gates|first=Bill|year=2023|title=5 things I wish I heard at the graduation I never had: The advice I shared with the class of 2023 is advice I could have used myself |url=https://www.gatesnotes.com/NAU-Commencement-Speech|website=gatesnotes.com|quote="The five things I wish I was told at the graduation I never attended: The first thing is, your life isn't a one-act play&nbsp;..."|access-date=May 16, 2023|archive-date=August 4, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804115445/https://www.gatesnotes.com/NAU-Commencement-Speech|url-status=live}}</ref> He was also made an honorary trustee of [[Peking University]] in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blakely |first=Rhys |date=July 18, 2007 |title=Gates how piracy worked for me in China |url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2098235.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611221948/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/technology/article2098235.ece|archive-date=June 11, 2011 |access-date=April 26, 2010|work=The Times}}</ref>
* In 1994, he was honored as the 20th [[Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society]] (DFBCS). In 1999, Gates received [[New York Institute of Technology]]'s President's Medal.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 28, 1999|title=Bill Gates Speaks of Opportunities and Challenges Facing "Generation I" |url=https://news.microsoft.com/1999/10/28/bill-gates-speaks-of-opportunities-and-challenges-facing-generation-i/ |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231203711/https://news.microsoft.com/1999/10/28/bill-gates-speaks-of-opportunities-and-challenges-facing-generation-i/|archive-date=December 31, 2015 |access-date=October 25, 2015|website=News Center}}</ref>
* Gates was elected a Member of the US [[National Academy of Engineering]] in 1996 "for contributions to the founding and development of personal computing".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mr. William H. Gates, III|url=https://nae.edu/30206/Mr-William-H-Gates-III |access-date=June 12, 2019|website=National Academy of Engineering |archive-date=October 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007174300/https://nae.edu/30206/Mr-William-H-Gates-III |url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Entomology|Entomologists]] named [[Bill Gates' flower fly]], ''{{lang|la|Eristalis gatesi}}'', in his honor in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thompson|first=F. Christian |date=August 19, 1999|title=Bill Gates' Flower Fly ''Eristalis gatesi'' Thompson |url=http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/Diptera/syrphid/gates.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212030504/http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/Diptera/syrphid/gates.htm|archive-date=February 12, 2008|access-date=February 18, 2008|publisher=The Diptera Site}}</ref>
* He was awarded [[American Library Association Honorary Membership]] in 1998.<ref>American Library Association. [http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/awards/176/all_years Honorary Membership] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220923013609/https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/awards/176/all_years|date=September 23, 2022}}.</ref>
* In 2002, Bill and Melinda Gates received the [[Jefferson Awards for Public Service|Jefferson Award]] for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the Disadvantaged.<ref>[http://www.jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national National Winners|public service awards] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124043935/http://jeffersonawards.org/pastwinners/national|date=November 24, 2010}}. Jefferson Awards.org. Retrieved on September 4, 2013.</ref>
* Gates was made an Honorary [[Order of the British Empire|Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (KBE) by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] in 2005.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 2, 2005|title=Knighthood for Microsoft's Gates |work=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3428673.stm |url-status=live|access-date=February 18, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080309105026/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3428673.stm |archive-date=March 9, 2008}}</ref>
* He was given the 2006 James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award from [[the Tech Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 2006 James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award|url=http://thetechawards.thetech.org/global_humanitarian/2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402233330/http://thetechawards.thetech.org/global_humanitarian/2006 |archive-date=April 2, 2014|access-date=April 2, 2014|publisher=The Tech Museum of Innovation}}</ref>
* In January 2006, he was awarded the [[Order of Prince Henry|Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry]] by the then president of Portugal, [[Jorge Sampaio]]. 
* In November 2006, he was awarded the [[Order of the Aztec Eagle|Placard of the Order of the Aztec Eagle]], together with his wife Melinda who was awarded the Insignia of the same order, both for their philanthropic work around the world in the areas of health and education, particularly in Mexico, and specifically in the program "''{{lang|es|Un país de lectores}}''".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Proclamation of the Award |url=http://diariooficial.segob.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=4936346 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306200919/http://diariooficial.segob.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=4936346 |archive-date=March 6, 2008 |access-date=March 30, 2008|publisher=[[Diario Oficial de la Federación]]}}</ref>
* Gates received the 2010 [[Bower Award for Business Leadership]] from [[The Franklin Institute]] for his achievements at Microsoft and his philanthropic work.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2010 |title=Bower Award for Business Leadership |url=http://www.fi.edu/franklinawards/10/bowerbus.html |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726214011/http://www.fi.edu/franklinawards/10/bowerbus.html|archive-date=July 26, 2010|access-date=June 30, 2013|publisher=The Franklin Institute}}</ref>
* Also in 2010, he was honored with the [[Silver Buffalo Award]] by the [[Boy Scouts of America]], its highest award for adults, for his service to youth.<ref name="SB2010">{{Cite news |date=September 15, 2010 |title=Bill Gates receives Silver Buffalo Boy Scout award |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/11310420|access-date=June 25, 2023|archive-date=February 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219191545/https://www.bbc.com/news/11310420 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* According to ''Forbes'', Gates was ranked as the fourth most powerful person in the world in 2012,<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 5, 2012 |title=The World's Most Powerful People|url=https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/|url-status=live|magazine=Forbes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121230133410/http://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/|archive-date=December 30, 2012 |access-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref> up from fifth in 2011.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=November 2, 2011 |title=The World's Most Powerful People|url=https://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/|url-status=dead |magazine=Forbes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111103062220/http://www.forbes.com/powerful-people/|archive-date=November 3, 2011|access-date=June 30, 2013}}</ref>
* In 2015, Gates and his wife Melinda received the [[Padma Bhushan]], India's third-highest civilian award for their social work in the country.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Padma Awards&nbsp;– Press Information Board of India|publisher=Ministry of Home Affairs, India|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=114952 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128022143/http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=114952|archive-date=January 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=January 25, 2015|title=Padma awards 2015 announced: Advani, Amitabh among 104 awardees|url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/padma-awards-announced-for-lk-advani-amitabh-bachchan-bill-gates_1536246.html |work=Zee News|access-date=January 25, 2015 |archive-date=January 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128060003/http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/padma-awards-announced-for-lk-advani-amitabh-bachchan-bill-gates_1536246.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 2016, [[Barack Obama]] honored Bill and Melinda Gates with the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] for their philanthropic efforts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 16, 2016 |title=President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121161738/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom |archive-date=January 21, 2017 |access-date=November 16, 2016 |website=[[whitehouse.gov]] |via=[[NARA|National Archives]]}}</ref>
* In 2017, [[François Hollande]] awarded Bill and Melinda Gates with France's highest national order, as Commanders in [[Legion of Honour|the Legion of Honour]], for their charity efforts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis – Washington, D.C. |date=April 21, 2017 |title=Bill et Melinda Gates décorés de la Légion d'Honneur|trans-title=Bill and Melinda Gates awarded the Legion of Honor |url=https://fr.franceintheus.org/spip.php?article8095 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623085423/https://fr.franceintheus.org/spip.php?article8095|archive-date=June 23, 2018|access-date=March 15, 2018|publisher=[[Embassy of France, Washington, D.C.|France in the United States / Embassy of France in Washington, D.C.]] |language=fr}}</ref>
* He was elected a foreign member of the [[Chinese Academy of Engineering]] in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Xiang|first=Bo|date=November 27, 2017|title=Bill Gates elected to Chinese Academy of Engineering |agency=Xinhua |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-11/27/c_136783270.htm|access-date=June 10, 2019|archive-date=December 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217095117/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-11/27/c_136783270.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>
* In 2019, Gates was awarded the [[Hawking Fellowship|Professor Hawking Fellowship]] of the [[Cambridge Union]] in the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref>{{cite web |title=2019 Hawking Fellowship |url=https://time.com/5694066/bill-gates-future-health/ |website=Time Magazine |date=October 7, 2019 |access-date=August 15, 2023 |archive-date=May 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240507152632/https://time.com/5694066/bill-gates-future-health/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 2020, Gates received the [[Order of the Rising Sun|Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun]] for his contributions to Japan and the world in regard to worldwide technological transformation and advancement of global health.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220805221613/https://www.seattle.us.emb-japan.go.jp/itpr_en/00_000752_00001.html Mr. Bill Gates to receive 2020 Spring Decoration from the Government of Japan.] Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle</ref>
* In 2021, Gates was nominated at the 11th annual [[Streamy Awards]] for the crossover for his personal YouTube channel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Youtube Streamy Awards, Crossover|url=https://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/11th-annual-nominees/|access-date=December 15, 2021|archive-date=December 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211213222108/https://www.streamys.org/nominees-winners/11th-annual-nominees/|url-status=live }}</ref>
* In 2022, Gates received the [[Hilal-e-Pakistan]], the second-highest civilian award in Pakistan for his social work in the country.<ref>{{cite news |title=Bill Gates awarded Hilal-e-Pakistan by President Alvi |url=https://www.brecorder.com/news/40155094 |access-date=April 25, 2025 |website=[[Brecorder.com]] |date=February 17, 2022}}</ref>
* In June 2025, Ethiopian prime minister [[Abiy Ahmed|Abiy Ahmed Ali]] conferred the national honour of Ethiopian Special Order on Bill Gates<ref>{{Cite web |title=PM Abiy Awards Ethiopia's Highest Honor to Bill Gates for 25 Years of Transformative Support|url=https://www.fanamc.com/english/pm-abiy-awards-ethiopias-highest-honor-to-bill-gates-for-25-years-of-transformative-support/#:~:text=Addis%20Ababa%2C%20June%201%2C%202025,partner%20in%20Ethiopia's%20development%20journey.|date=June 1, 2025}}</ref>
* In June 2025, Nigerian president [[Bola Tinubu|Bola Ahmed Tinubu]] conferred the national honour of [[Order of the Federal Republic|Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic]] on Bill Gates<ref>{{Cite news |title=Tinubu awards national honour to Bill Gates for fighting poverty in Africa |date=June 3, 2025 |url=https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/06/tinubu-awards-national-honour-to-bill-gates-for-fighting-poverty-in-africa/ |issn=0794-652X|location=Lagos, Nigeria|newspaper=[[Vanguard (Nigeria)|Vanguard]]}}</ref>

== Depiction in media ==
=== Documentary films about Gates ===
{{external media|width = 210px| float =right|video1 = [http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_7C97C4381B7849D791CD357588C2FE89 The Machine That Changed The World; Interview with Bill Gates, 1990] (raw video), 44:03, [[WGBH Educational Foundation|Open Vault WGBH]]<ref name="wgbhov">{{cite web|title =Machine That Changed The World, The; Interview with Bill Gates, 1990 (raw video)| publisher=[[WGBH Educational Foundation|WGBH Open Vault]]| date =1990|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_7C97C4381B7849D791CD357588C2FE89|access-date =September 19, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20161014153941/http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_7C97C4381B7849D791CD357588C2FE89|archive-date =October 14, 2016}}</ref>}}

* [[The Machine That Changed the World (miniseries)|''The Machine That Changed the World'']] (1990)
* ''[[Triumph of the Nerds]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Nerds 2.0.1]]'' (1998)
* ''[[Waiting for "Superman"]]'' (2010)<ref>{{cite web |url= https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9644610 |title= Bill Gates Goes to Sundance, Offers an Education|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100128012239/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9644610 |archive-date= January 28, 2010 |work=ABC News|date=January 23, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* ''[[The Virtual Revolution]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates]]'' (2019)
* ''[[What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates]]'' (2024)

=== Feature films ===
* 1999: ''[[Pirates of Silicon Valley]]'', a film that chronicles the rise of [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] and [[Microsoft]] from the early 1970s to 1997. Gates is portrayed by [[Anthony Michael Hall]].
* 2002: ''[[Nothing So Strange]]'', a mockumentary featuring Gates as the subject of a modern assassination. Gates briefly appears at the start, played by Steve Sires.
* 2010: ''[[The Social Network]]'', a film that chronicles the development of [[Facebook]]. Gates is portrayed by Steve Sires.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kval.com/news/entertainment/104288359.html |title='Bogus Bill' has a blast playing billionaire in 'The Social Network' |first=Lindsay|last=Cohen|work=KVAL 13 |access-date=October 25, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150730024100/http://www.kval.com/news/entertainment/104288359.html |archive-date=July 30, 2015 }}</ref>
* 2015: ''[[Steve Jobs]] vs. Bill Gates: The Competition to Control the Personal Computer, 1974–1999'': Original film from the [[National Geographic Channel]] for the ''[[American Genius]]'' series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://americangenius.nationalgeographic.com/episode/jobs-vs-gates/|title=American Genius|access-date=September 10, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910170511/http://americangenius.nationalgeographic.com/episode/jobs-vs-gates|archive-date=September 10, 2015}}</ref>

=== Video and film clips ===
[[File:Steve Jobs and Bill Gates (522695099).jpg|thumb|With [[Steve Jobs]] at [[All Things Digital|''D: All Things Digital'']] in 2007]]

* 1983: Steve Jobs hosts Gates and others in the "Macintosh dating game" at the [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]] pre-launch event (a parody of the television game show ''[[The Dating Game]]'')<ref>{{cite news|last=Moss|first=Caroline|title=In 1983, Steve Jobs Hosted Apple's Version Of 'The Dating Game' And Bill Gates Was A Contestant|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-and-steve-jobs-on-the-dating-game-in-1983-2013-11|access-date=November 21, 2021|work=Business Insider|date=November 24, 2013|archive-date=October 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022120641/https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-and-steve-jobs-on-the-dating-game-in-1983-2013-11|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 1991: Gates spoke to the [[Berkeley Macintosh Users Group]] lively weekly Thursday night meeting with questions and answers in PSL Hall (renamed Pimentel Hall in 1994)<ref>{{cite web|title=College of Chemistry Timeline |url=http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/extras/timeline/ |website=[[UC Berkeley]]|access-date=July 21, 2022|archive-date=May 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519164654/http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/extras/timeline/|url-status=live}}</ref> at [[University of California, Berkeley]]<ref name="YouTube=R7x7W4zaroM">{{cite AV media
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* 2007: {{YouTube|id=wvhW8cp15tk|title=Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Together at the D5 Conference}}, ''[[All Things Digital]]''
* Since 2009, Gates has given numerous [[TED (Conference)|TED talks]] on current concerns such as innovation, education and fighting global diseases<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ted.com/speakers/bill_gates |title=Bill Gates' TED talks|work=TED.com|access-date=July 2, 2020|archive-date=March 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316153815/https://www.ted.com/speakers/bill_gates|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Radio ===
Gates was the guest on [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'' on January 31, 2016, in which he talked about his relationships with his [[William H. Gates Sr.|father]] and [[Steve Jobs]], meeting [[Melinda Gates|Melinda Ann French]], the start of [[Microsoft]] and some of his habits (for example reading ''[[The Economist]]'' "from cover to cover every week"). His choice of things to take on a desert island were, for music: "[[Blue Skies (Irving Berlin song)|Blue Skies]]" by [[Willie Nelson]]; a book: ''[[The Better Angels of Our Nature]]'' by [[Steven Pinker]]; and luxury item: a DVD Collection of Lectures from [[The Teaching Company]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06z1zdt|title=BBC Radio 4&nbsp;– Desert Island Discs, Bill Gates|work=BBC|access-date=March 29, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320092444/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06z1zdt|archive-date=March 20, 2016}}</ref>

=== Television ===
Gates starred as himself in a brief appearance on the ''[[Frasier]]'' episode "The Two Hundredth Episode".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gates in 'Frasier' guest spot |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/gates-in-frasier-guest-spot/ |access-date=January 26, 2024 |website=ZDNET |language=en |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126065340/https://www.zdnet.com/article/gates-in-frasier-guest-spot/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He also made a guest appearance as himself on the TV show ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'', in an episode titled "[[The Big Bang Theory (season 11)|The Gates Excitation]]".<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lerman|first1=Rachel|title=Bill Gates to guest star on geeky 'The Big Bang Theory'|url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/bill-gates-to-guest-star-on-the-big-bang-theory/|access-date=February 25, 2019|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=March 27, 2018|archive-date=February 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190226050057/https://www.seattletimes.com/business/microsoft/bill-gates-to-guest-star-on-the-big-bang-theory/|url-status=live}}</ref> He also appeared in a cameo role in 2019 on the [[Exit Event|series finale]] of ''[[Silicon Valley (TV series)|Silicon Valley]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.geekwire.com/2019/big-fan-bill-gates-makes-appearance-silicon-valley-series-finale-hbo-comedy-logs-off/|title = 'Big fan' Bill Gates makes appearance in 'Silicon Valley' series finale as HBO comedy logs off|date = December 9, 2019|access-date = May 8, 2020|archive-date = December 9, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191209223844/https://www.geekwire.com/2019/big-fan-bill-gates-makes-appearance-silicon-valley-series-finale-hbo-comedy-logs-off/|url-status = live}}</ref> Gates was parodied in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Das Bus]]". In 2023, Gates was the interviewee in an episode of the ''[[Amol Rajan]] Interviews'' series on [[BBC Two]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Amol Rajan Interviews: Bill Gates |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001hsl1/amol-rajan-interviews-bill-gates |website=BBC |access-date=February 20, 2023 |archive-date=February 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220014709/https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001hsl1/amol-rajan-interviews-bill-gates |url-status=live }}</ref> and was the subject of an episode of the UK [[Channel 4]] series ''The Billionaires Who Made Our World''.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Billionaires Who Made Our World: Bill Gates |url=https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-billionaires-who-made-our-world/on-demand/72330-002 |publisher=Channel 4 |access-date=February 20, 2023 |archive-date=February 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220115531/https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-billionaires-who-made-our-world/on-demand/72330-002 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2025, he also made a guest appearance via video call in Hindi TV show ''[[Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Crossover Nobody Asked For': Netizens Troll Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2 For Using MacBook In Smriti Irani-Bill Gates Video Call Scene |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/entertainment/crossover-nobody-asked-for-netizens-troll-kyunki-saas-bhi-kabhi-bahu-thi-2-for-using-macbook-in-smriti-irani-bill-gates-video-call-scene |access-date=2025-10-24 |website=Free Press Journal |language=en}}</ref>

== Books ==
* {{Cite book |last=Gates |first=Bill |date=February 4, 2025 |title=Source Code: My Beginnings |url-access= |edition= |location=New York |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |pages= |isbn=978-0593801581 |oclc=1485475200 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Schwab |first=Tim |date=September 19, 2024 |title=The Bill Gates Problem |url-access= |edition=Paperback |location=New York |publisher=Penguin |pages=496  |isbn=9780241609484 |oclc= }}

== See also ==
* [[List of richest Americans in history]]
* {{anl|OER Project}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
* {{Cite book |title=How to Be a Billionaire: Proven Strategies from the Titans of Wealth|first=Martin|last = Fridson |year=2001|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn= 0-471-41617-7}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Road Ahead |last=Gates |first=Bill |year=1996 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |isbn=0-14-026040-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/roadahead00gate_1 }}
* {{Cite book<!--not book? TV?!--> |title=Bill Gates | type = biography |first=Jeanne M.|last=Lesinski|year=2006|publisher= [[A&E Television Networks]]|isbn= 0-8225-7027-0 }}
* {{Cite book<!--not book? TV?!--> |title=Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry and Made Himself the Richest Man in America | isbn = 0-671-88074-8| year = 1994| publisher = [[Touchstone Pictures]] | last = Manes | first = Stephen }}
* {{Cite book|first=James|last=Wallace|year=1993|title=Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|location=New York |isbn=0-471-56886-4|url=https://archive.org/details/harddrivebillgat00wall_0}}

;Primary sources
* Gates, Bill (2024). "[https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/16/tech/bill-gates-ai-gps-interview/index.html Bill Gates Explains How AI Will Change Our Lives in 5 Years]". CNN.
* Gates, Bill (2013). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20191102112703/http://www.nicoleguihaume.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/An-exclusive-interview-with-Bill-Gates.pdf An Exclusive Interview with Bill Gates]". ''Financial Times'' 1.
* Gates, Bill. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20191102112703/http://www.mountbatteninstitute.org/docs/Bill_Gates_Harvard_Commencement_Address.Pdf Remarks of Bill Gates, Harvard Commencement 2007]". ''[[The Harvard Gazette]]'' 7 (2007).
* Kinsley, Michael, and Conor Clarke, Eds. ''Creative Capitalism: A Conversation with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Other Economic Leaders'' (Simon and Schuster, 2009).
* National Museum of American History. "[https://americanhistory.si.edu/comphist/gates.htm Bill Gates Interview]".

== Further reading ==
<!-- Alphabetized by author, or by publicaton if the author is not credited. -->
* {{Cite book |last=Bank |first=David |year=2001 |title=Breaking Windows: How Bill Gates Fumbled the Future of Microsoft |url=https://archive.org/details/breakingwindowsh00bank |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Free Press |isbn=0-7432-0315-1 |oclc=46634139}}
* {{Cite magazine |title=The Meaning of Bill Gates: As His Reign at Microsoft Comes to an End, so Does the Era He Dominated |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2008/06/26/the-meaning-of-bill-gates |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029233737/https://www.economist.com/node/11622119 |archive-date=October 29, 2010 |url-status=live |magazine=[[The Economist]] |date=June 28, 2008 }}
* {{cite web |last=Kildall |first=Gary |author-link=Gary Kildall |date=October 25, 2004 |title=The Man Who Could Have Been Bill Gates |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_43/b3905109_mz063.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060404211733/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_43/b3905109_mz063.htm |archive-date=April 4, 2006 |work=Bloomberg BusinessWeek |access-date=June 9, 2010}}
* {{Cite book |last=Leibovich |first=Mark |year=2002 |title=The New Imperialists |url=https://archive.org/details/newimperialists00mark |url-access=registration |location=Upper Saddle River, N.J. |publisher=Prentice Hall |pages=[ 139–182] |isbn=9780735203174 |oclc=47990010}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rivlin |first=Gary |title=The Plot to Get Bill Gates: An Irreverent Investigation of the World's Richest Man... and the People Who Hate Him|year=1999|publisher=Times Business|location=New York |isbn=0-8129-3006-1|url=https://archive.org/details/plottogetbillgat00rivl}}
* [[Ben Tarnoff|Tarnoff, Ben]], "Whither the Nerd-Bully?" (review of [[Anupreeta Das]], ''Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World'', Avid Reader, 323 pp.; and Bill Gates, ''Source Code: My Beginnings'', Knopf, 318 pp.), ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'', vol. LXXIII, no. 9 (28 May 2026), pp. 6, 8–10.
* {{Cite book |last=Wallace |first=James |year=1997 |title=Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace |location=New York |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9780471180418 |oclc=36201264}}
* {{Cite magazine |title=83 Reasons Why Bill Gates's Reign Is Over |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.12/microsoft.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822154638/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.12/microsoft.html |archive-date=August 22, 2010 |magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |date=December 1998 |volume=6 |issue=12}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://www.gatesnotes.com}}
* {{URL|https://www.gatesfoundation.org|Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation}}
* {{C-SPAN|28852}}
* {{TED speaker}}
* [https://www.forbes.com/profile/bill-gates/ ''Forbes'' profile]

{{Bill Gates|state=expanded}}
{{Microsoft}}
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