Bill Gates’ greatest achievements at Microsoft
Bill Gates has announced he plans to step down from the board of the company he founded to focus on philanthropy. Here are a few achievements that Bill Gates achieved with Microsoft.
Forming the foundation of Microsoft
Gates and Allen learnt the BASIC programming language whilst studying at Lakeside School in Seattle, which was simple to use for beginners but had functionality that could be stretched by advanced coders. In 1975, the pair created a version for the Altair 8800 and the two sold the code to MITS for $3000. The BASIC sparked the home computing boom in the 1980’s which featured in IBM PC and Apple II.
Founding Microsoft
In 1976, Bill Gates and Paul Allen formed Micro-Soft which is a blend of ‘micro-computer’ and ‘software’, however, they dropped the hyphen within a year to the name you see today. In 1980, the company signed a landmark deal with IBM to produce an operating system for its upcoming personal computer. Microsoft created MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System) and did not offer to transfer copyright on the operating system to IBM. IBM’s competitors started producing clones of IBM’s PC, which provided a perfect opportunity for Microsoft to push their version of the operating system to system builders. By the early 1990s, Microsoft had sold more than one hundred million copies of MS-DOS making it one of the most successful software to be made available.
Named World’s Youngest Self-Made Billionaire at 31
In 1987, Bill Gates was listed among the 400 richest people in America with an estimated worth of $4.25 billion and was the youngest billionaire, this achievement would be surpassed in 2008 by Mark Zuckerberg who founded Facebook.
Microsoft 95
At this point, MS-DOS was popular among PC builders and it was the number one operating system to install in systems. However, Microsoft would go on to develop Windows that would change personal computer software forever. In 1995, Microsoft released Windows 95 that gave you a graphic interface, making it easier for users to navigate around an operating system. This made personal computer accessible to masses, as it did not require any coding knowledge to use it. Windows 95 introduced icons, point device feature, plug and play and multitasking.
Richest Man in the World at the age of 39
With the success of MS-DOS and Windows 95, Gates becomes the Richest Man in the World at the age of 39 and he would constantly be ranked among the richest of the rich by the magazine. In 1999, Bill Gates had an estimated worth of $101 billion. There were reports that in 1996, Gates would earn $30 million a day.
Bill Gates helped shape personal computers, as we know it today. Windows has developed countless operating systems that help enhance everyone’s lives and Windows has become a dominant force in the operating system and software industry.