On, 4 April 1975, a 25-year-old Bill Gates, with his childhood friend, Paul Allen, dropped out of his college and moved to Albuquerque, in New Mexico, where he set up Microsoft. On March 13, 1976, Microsoft became a public company with Gates as its CEO. Forty-four years since then, exactly to the days, Gates is stepping down.
The company's major breakthrough came in 1980 when Microsoft signed an agreement with IBM to build the operating system that came to be known as MS-DOS.
In 1986, Microsoft went public and within a year Bill Gates, at 31, had become the youngest self-made billionaire. He has served on Berkshire's board since 2004 but had given most of his time and considerations to the charitable organisation he and his wife Melinda have set up- the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The bold decision
For decades, Bill Gates was the face of Microsoft. Listed by the Forbes, as the world's richest man in the world, Mr Gates, 65, says he now wants to focus on the global health and development, education and tackling the climate change.
Gates said on Friday that he would also step down from the board of Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by his close friend, Warren E. Buffett.
The Microsoft Man
Known for his technical acumen and staunch business practices, Gates helped establish Microsoft's Windows software as the primary system for the personal computer. According to Microsoft, Gates would remain as a technical adviser to the company and Satya Nadella.
"Microsoft will always be an important part of my life's work and I will continue to be engaged with Satya and the technical leadership to help shape the vision and achieve the company's ambitious goals. I feel more optimistic than ever about the progress the company is making," he wrote in his post.
The Bill and Melinda Foundation
Launched in 2000, the Bill and Melinda Foundation is reported to be the largest private foundation in the world, holding $46.8 billion in assets.
With the present decision that marks the culmination of Gates's four decades-long association with his brainchild, Gates is to shift his complete focus on the philanthropic organisation. The central aim of the foundation is to focus on improving all people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty.
Recently, the Gates Foundation said it would commit an additional $100 million to fight the coronavirus. The organization has also pledged $10 million earlier in the year.
Albeit reaching up for the lamenting world and the rising temperature and sea levels are much more may seem more nerve-racking than guiding the software firm, Gates seems to approach the challenges with charm and charisma one had seldom seen when he was speaking for Microsoft.
