Bill Gates

Businessman and entrepreneur Bill Gates and his business partner Paul Allen founded and built the world's largest business, Microsoft, through technology, big business strategy and aggressive business strategies. Through this process, Gates became one of the richest men in the world. In February 2014, Gates announced that he stepped down from the position of chairman of Microsoft to focus on charitable work for his foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates had a very close relationship with his mother, Mary, who after a short career as a teacher devoted his time to helping raise children and working in community affairs and charitable organizations. He has also served on numerous corporate boards, including those of First Interstate Bank in Seattle (founded by his grandmother), United Way and International Business Machines (IBM). He often accompanied Gates where he volunteered at schools and community organizations. In 1975, Gates built Micro-Soft, a combination of "micro-computers" and "software" (they dropped the hyphen within a year). Without Microsoft's success, Gates never felt completely safe. Always exploring the race above his shoulder, Gates developed a hot white drive and competitive atmosphere. Gates's aide reported that he would arrive early at work to find someone sleeping under a desk. He considered driving safety or police until they found out it was Gates. In 2000, Gates stepped down from the day-to-day operations of Microsoft, and transformed the CEO's career into college friend Steve Ballmer, who has been at Microsoft since 1980.