Bill Gates

Bill Gates just before a speech (http://cdn.benzinga.com/files/bill-gates-speech.jpg)

In American households approximately ninety percent of people own one or more computers with some version of Microsoft Windows. The reason why Microsoft software is so prevalent in personal computers can be traced to the tremendous influence of Microsoft’s chairman Bill Gates. Bill Gates was born October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington where he grew up with his two sisters. Gates attended the Lakeside school where he saw his very first computer. Gates later went on to Harvard, where he met Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen. Gates dropped out of Harvard in 1975 to begin his software career. Gates’ big break came in 1980, when he made his first package deal with IBM, before he went on to conquer the computer world. Bill Gates has become widely recognized for his generosity, hard working attitude, and influential characteristics, which makes him a very inspiring person and a hero.

Bill Gates displays his hard working attribute in many ways. One of which is working smarter, “…Microsoft acquired the right to license the 86-DOS that Seattle Computer had developed. Gates renamed it MS-DOS and offered a package deal to IBM…” (Decades). Gates was a hard worker, but he also knew that the software he bought was almost good enough on its own; it just needed a language package. With that, he was able to repackage and sell it to IBM for a huge profit. Gates worked hard to cut a deal with the Seattle Computer Company for fifty thousand dollars. All of Bill’s hard working eventually paid off, “At the age of 31, he [Gates] was the youngest person to become a billionaire” (Discovering). Bill Gates continued working hard and dropped out of Harvard to develop software. So committed to his work, Gates barely had time for anything else, spending, “…six years between 1978 and 1984 he took a total of only two weeks vacation” (Discovering). Bill gates is one of the most hard working a completely dedicated person to his work, that’s why he is the chairman to one of the wealthiest companies in the world.

Bill Gates speaking at a keynote (http://sheddy73.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/bill-gates.jpg)

Bill Gates also demonstrates his generous qualities on a regular basis. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation “has an endowment of more than $28 billion, with donations totaling more than $1 billion every year” (Woopidoo). Their foundation has the largest endowment of any private charity organization. They also generously donate enormous amounts of money to many other charitable organizations worldwide. Gates could have used the money to develop new software for his company, but he knew that the global community needed it first. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have many focuses, but the largest would be to, “bring innovations in health and learning to the global community” (Woopidoo). Bill Gates has thrown himself just as hard into his charity foundation as he did in building his software empire. Donating has become a full time job to Gates. With health problems and food shortage around the world Gates has his hands full. This is no easy task, but Bill Gates has the generosity to complete anything he puts his mind to.

A hero is shown by the qualities they have, and the actions they do. The world recognizes Bill Gates as a generous, hard working, and influential person. From his young time at Harvard, Gates has aimed to change the world for the better. His hard work and determination has brought him to the number one software company. Gates’ generosity has set him apart from the rest, as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest private charity organization. Bill Gates inspires others to set your goal and work towards it, because one day you will achieve it, with success. Bill Gates did not become a billionaire over night; it has taken his dedication for many years, that’s why he is known as a hero.