Bill Gates Bill Gates is known as one of the richest people in the world. He has also been known for donating very large amounts of money to various charities. He has helped make the world a better place by giving away so much of his wealth to help society. William H. Gates was born on October 28, 1955. Early on in life, he always had an interest in computers and programming. This led him to the achievement that he is most known for: co-founding Microsoft in 1975. Microsoft largely dominated the computer industry through the ‘90s and is still largely successful through today. As of 2008, Microsoft has annual revenue of $60.42 billion. Gates was a chairman and chief executive until he stepped down as chief executive in 2000. He remained a chairman until February of 2014 when he took on the position as technology advisor. Bill Gates has consistently been on Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest people being number one multiple times. In 2013, he was named the wealthiest person alive according to Bloomberg. His current estimated net worth is $78.5 billion. Bill and his wife, Melinda Gates founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (or the Gates Foundation) in 1997. It is “driven by the interests and passions of the Gates family.” Its goals are: “globally, to enhance healthcare and reduce extreme poverty, and in America, to expand educational opportunities and access to information technology.” This foundation has been the receiving end of Gates’ philanthropy. The Gates Foundation has three grant-making programs: Global Health Program, Global Development Program, and United States Program. Hundreds of millions of dollars will be donated to the world’s poor over the next few years under supposedly a new grant-making program. The Gates Foundation focuses on small branches of organizations under those programs ranging from HIV research to small U.S. schools to promote education. The Gates foundation focuses on the development and poverty-stricken places throughout the world and the education of America. The Gates foundation has donated $100 million to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and $250 million to create new small schools throughout America among many other examples. As of 2013, the foundation has had an endowment (total assets) of $38.3 billion with $28 billion coming from Bill Gates. Warren Buffet (also one of the wealthiest people in the world) has donated over $3.5 billion to the Gates Foundation, also pledging to donate more in the coming years. Under the conditions of Buffet, all of his donations are to be given