People take for granted how far technology has come in the past 40 years. Back then, computers weren’t seen as a consumer product, only as a high end company’s tool for completing complicated equations or automating systems. Bill Gates was the man who headed the shift in software development that led to a lot of the technology we have today. Most people probably already know Bill Gates as the richest man in the world, but what is more interesting is the story behind his fortune. Bill Gates is considered one of the most influential people in technology because of his breakthrough innovations in personal computers and generous philanthropy. Bill Gates started working on software projects from a very young age. He was lucky enough to go to a
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Despite his billionaire status, Gates is still incredibly humble with his earnings. “Gates was inspired by the book “The Power of Half” by Kevin Salwen, and has since decided to give away 95% of his fortune as well as encourage other billionaires to do the same.” (Thorpe) Even after donating almost all of his money, Gates is still getting enough income from Windows sales to make the Forbes 400 list every year. At this point Gates’s involvement with Microsoft is miniscule at best, but that hasn’t stopped him from changing the world for the better. Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates created the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in 2000 in order to bring attention to and help resolve many of the world's current problems. “The primary aims of the foundation are, to enhance healthcare, reduce extreme poverty, and to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology.” (Bill and Melinda) The foundation is currently the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world with over 26 billion dollars donated. In fall 2014 Bill and Melinda announced that the foundation would be adopting an open access policy for publications and data, “to enable unrestricted access and reuse of all peer-review published research funded by the foundation.” (Bill and Melinda) Essentially this allows the foundation to act as a library, allowing anyone to use the information they have gathered. “This move has been widely applauded by those who are working in capacity development and knowledge sharing.” (Bill and
Despite his billionaire status, Gates is still incredibly humble with his earnings. “Gates was inspired by the book “The Power of Half” by Kevin Salwen, and has since decided to give away 95% of his fortune as well as encourage other billionaires to do the same.” (Thorpe) Even after donating almost all of his money, Gates is still getting enough income from Windows sales to make the Forbes 400 list every year. At this point Gates’s involvement with Microsoft is miniscule at best, but that hasn’t stopped him from changing the world for the better. Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates created the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in 2000 in order to bring attention to and help resolve many of the world's current problems. “The primary aims of the foundation are, to enhance healthcare, reduce extreme poverty, and to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology.” (Bill and Melinda) The foundation is currently the largest transparently operated private foundation in the world with over 26 billion dollars donated. In fall 2014 Bill and Melinda announced that the foundation would be adopting an open access policy for publications and data, “to enable unrestricted access and reuse of all peer-review published research funded by the foundation.” (Bill and Melinda) Essentially this allows the foundation to act as a library, allowing anyone to use the information they have gathered. “This move has been widely applauded by those who are working in capacity development and knowledge sharing.” (Bill and