Bill Gates

Trivia

• Accolades
  Honorary KBE from the United Kingdom announced, 2004
  Top 100 influential people in media, the Guardian, 2001
  The Sunday Times power list, 1999
  Upside Elite 100, Ranked 2nd, 1999
  Top 50 Cyber Elite, TIME magazine, Ranked 1st, 1998
  Top 100 most powerful people in sports, The Sporting News, Ranked 28th, 1997
  CEO of the year, Chief Executive Officers magazine, 1994
  Entomologists have named the Bill Gates flower fly, Eristalis gatesi, in his honor.
• Aged 21, police photo for a minor traffic violation. Microsoft used this photo in a German advertisement with the slogan "Good that there are no speed limits for software"In February 1976, Gates wrote the Open Letter to Hobbyists, which shocked the computer hobbyist community by asserting that a commercial market existed for computer software. Gates stated in the letter that software should not be copied without the publisher's permission, which he equated to piracy. While legally correct, Gates's proposal was unprecedented in a community that was influenced by its ham radio legacy and hacker ethic, in which innovations and knowledge were freely shared in the community. Nevertheless, Gates was right about the market prospects and his efforts paid off: Microsoft Corporation became one of the world's most successful commercial enterprises, and a key player in the creation of a retail software industry.
• In 1975, Gates and Allen co-founded Microsoft Corporation to market their version of BASIC, called Microsoft BASIC. It was the primary interpreted computer language of the MS-DOS operating system, and was key to Microsoft's early commercial success.
• In 2000, Gates promoted long-time friend and Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer to the role of Chief Executive Officer and took on the role of "Chief Software Architect".
• In the mid-1980s Gates became excited about the possibilities of compact disc for storage, and sponsored the publication of the book CD-ROM: The New Papyrus that promoted the idea of CD-ROM.
• Also among Gates's private acquisitions is the Codex Leicester, a collection of writings by Leonardo da Vinci, which Gates bought for $30.8 million at an auction in 1994
• According to King County public records, as of 2006, the total assessed value of the property (land and house) is $125 million, and the annual property tax is $991,000
• Gates's wealth briefly surpassed $101 billion, causing the media to call him a "centibillionaire"
• Gates was number one on the "Forbes 400" list from 1993 through to 2007 and number one on Forbes list of "The World's Richest People" from 1995 to 2007. In 1999
• Gates has pursued a number of philanthropic endeavors, donating large amounts of money to various charitable organizations and scientific research programs through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, established in 2000