15 interesting facts from the life of Bill Gates (16 photos)

Many people only know about Bill Gates that he is the founder of Microsoft, who owns billions. However, in the biography of one of the most prominent and richest people on the planet there are many other interesting facts that many did not know about.





Gates created the first computer program at age 13



At age 13, Gates attended Lakeside Preparatory School in Seattle and created his first program there. He wrote the code for a computer version of the game tic-tac-toe on an ASR-33 teletype machine linked to a General Electric computer. After Gates became interested in programming, he was excused from math classes. One teacher even asked him to reprogram the school's lesson planning system in exchange for more computer time.

He was expelled from Harvard University





Gates was expelled from Harvard in 1975, after two years of study. But despite this, he received numerous doctorates from universities around the world - for example, from Stockholm University in 2002, the Dutch Business School, Nienrode Business University in 2003, Peking University and Harvard in 2007.

Gates founded Microsoft with his partner



Gates, along with friend and business partner Paul Allen, founded Microsoft in 1975. Allen came up with the name Microsoft (a combination of “microcomputer” and “software”), and was also involved in technical ideas and promising developments. Gates was more involved in negotiations and contracts, but the partners resolved the main issues together.

Gates has Leonardo da Vinci's notebook



On November 11, 1994, Bill Gates purchased Leonardo da Vinci's Codex Leicester for $30.8 million. According to the entrepreneur himself, this was his second most expensive purchase after a private jet.

Bill Gates became a Knight of the British Empire



In 2005, Queen Elizabeth II awarded a knighthood to Bill Gates. He received a Knight of the British Empire for his contributions to science and technology. In addition, the Queen awarded Gates for reducing poverty in the world - he and his wife Melinda founded a foundation that makes monetary donations around the world and helps those in need.

Bill and Melinda have three children



Bill and his wife Melinda got married in 1994 and divorced in 2021. The couple has three children: their first daughter, Jennifer Catherine Gates, was born on April 26, 1996, and their son Rory John was born on May 23, 1999. Another daughter, Phoebe Adele, was born on September 14, 2002.

Gates is Catholic



The Gates family is Catholic, and religion plays a big part in their family life—for example, the Gates children attend the same Catholic church as Bill and Melinda. In one interview, the entrepreneur said that he prefers to follow religion in areas that science cannot explain.

The name of his mansion is Xanadu 2.0



Gates' mansion overlooks Lake Washington in Medina. Its area is 6100 square meters, and it even has its own name: Xanadu 2.0. The cost of the house is estimated at $147.5 million.

Bill Gates played tennis for charity



In 2017, Bill Gates played tennis in a team with the most titled tennis player on the planet, Roger Federer. It was a charity match where the tennis player's foundation raised funds for children in Africa. The event sold out and raised $2 million. They later held similar matches in 2018 and 2020, collecting more than $2.5 million from each.

He played himself in the series "The Big Bang Theory"



Gates appeared in episode 18 of season 11 of The Big Bang Theory. The episode "The Gates Excitation" aired on March 29, 2018. According to the plot, all the heroes, except Sheldon, want to meet Gates as soon as possible, but Sheldon believes that there is no Gates, and he is being played.

He wrote three books



The first book, The Road to the Future, published in November 1995, was the result of a collaboration between Gates, journalist Peter Rynearson, and Microsoft executive Nathan Myhrvold. The second book, Business at the Speed ​​of Thought, was published in 1999. The third book, “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” was published on February 16, 2021.

Gates speaks only English



In an interview, the billionaire admitted that one of his biggest regrets in life was that he never learned another language. Although he is proficient in many programming languages, he can only speak English.

Gates invests heavily and owns stakes in many companies around the world.



As one of the richest people in the world, Gates makes frequent investments - he has invested in entrepreneurial start-ups in many sectors. In addition to financial support for startups, he owns shares in many companies around the world - for example, as of 2019, Gates is the largest shareholder of Canadian Network Railway. He also owns 25% of Ecolab and 16% of AutoNation, among many other companies.

Six documentaries have already been released about him.



Since 1990, six documentaries have already been made about Gates, his achievements in work and life. Here they are: “Bill Gates: How a Weirdo Changed the World” (1990), “Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Indirect Empires” (1996), “Eggheads 2.0.1: A Brief History of the Internet” (1998), “Waiting for Superman” (2010 ), Virtual Revolution (2010), Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates (2019).

Gates' fortune is estimated at $116 billion



Back in 1987, Forbes magazine named Gates the world's youngest self-made billionaire. In 2015, he was recognized as the richest man in America. He was number two on the Forbes 2020 list of billionaires. He was also included in the list of the best inventors of the 20th century. Although the billionaire has left Microsoft, he has focused on his philanthropic foundation and continues to invest in startups.