It is not every generation that is blessed to bask in the accomplishments of the kind of people this present generation has been blessed with for the last few decades. When we live with names like Warren Buffet, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, Aliko Dangote, Mo Ibrahim, etc. who rank in Forbe’s list of the world’s most powerful entrepreneurs, we have no excuses to remain friends to the life of mediocrity.
This generation is blessed with so many examples to learn from, most of who started doing exploits in their 20s and today are celebrated world over. If there is one man who has thrilled the business and IT world over the last two decades than anyone else, that man is Bill Gates.
Born to William and Mary Gates on October 28, 1955 in Seattle, Washington – USA, William Henry ‘Bill’ Gates attended Harvard College in 1973 after scoring 1590 out of 1600 in SAT. During his first year at Havard, he spent much of his time on computers but after the first year, he dropped out of school and along with his friend, Paul Allen, went on to pursue their dreams in IT. Their combination led to the debut of the world over celebrated company called Microsoft.
Today, Bill Gates has become a household name for being an investor, a computer programmer, a philanthropist and a business magnate. Bill was consistently ranked by Forbes Magazine as the world’s wealthiest man from 1995 (when he was only 40 years) to 2009 except for 2008 when investor Warren Buffett dethroned him. In 2011 he was the wealthiest American and the world’s second wealthiest man.
I wanted to tap into the secrets behind this man’s success so I decided first to do some findings about his wealth and there were so many interesting things that I gathered. While I cannot attest to the integrity of all these facts about this world mover, I think they are not completely far from the truth. Out of the so much I gathered here are 20 interesting facts about Bill.
One: As successful as Bill Gates is, neither of his father nor mother was of business or IT background. His father was a lawyer while his mother was a teacher. Does it really matter the background you have? Stop entertaining complaints.
Two: Bill Gates started writing his own computer programs at an unbelievable age of 13. How old are you? How well are you spending your time?
Three: Bill Gates sold his first computer program at the age of 17 for $4,200. He sold a time-tabling system to his high school. Meaning at such a young age, still a teenager, Bill could boast of such an amount of money in his account, made using his knowledge. At your age, what can you boast of?
Four: Bill Gates started his first company - Microsoft at only 20. What was on your mind at 20? How old do you think you need to be, to start your first business? See my post titled, ‘10 Strong Advantages Of Starting Business Young’
Five: Bill Gates and Paul Allen took 5 years to make Microsoft a big success. Their biggest breakthrough in business came in 1980 when Microsoft won a contract from IBM to provide operating system MS-DOS for IBM’s new personal computers. Bill was only 25 then. Only 6 years later, he became a billionaire. Hard work pays.
Six: In school Bill bragged to his teachers that he would be a millionaire by the time he was 30; he was a billionaire by 31. How ambitious are you? Do you match your words with appropriate actions? What will you be by 30 or 40?
Seven: Bill Gates dropped out of Havard at the age of 20 and eventually became the most successful school dropouts the world has ever known. If you have had more education than him, you have the right to become more successful. Otherwise, your education could be a waste of time. What do you think? Don’t waste a minute doing something that does not lead to where you are going.
Eight: As you read this, Bill Gates earns about US$250 every second, that's about US$20 Million a day and US$7.8 Billion a year! His net worth is some US$72 Billion.
Nine: His estimated wealth in 2013 was US$65 Billion which equals the annual GDP of Ecuador, and maybe a bit more than that of Croatia.
Ten: If Bill Gates were a country, he would be the 37th richest country on earth. Hmmm! What wealth for a single individual!
Eleven: Bill Gates is said to be worth two Kenyas, three Trinidads and a dozen or so Montenegros!
Twelve: If Bill gave US$15 to everyone on earth he will still be left with US$5 Million! Are you kidding me?
Thirteen: For a brief period in 1999 Bill Gates net worth went past US$100 Billion and because of this a new term ‘centibillionaire’ was coined.
Fourteen: If Bill Gates were to pay the US national debt which is about 5.62 Trillion, by himself; he will finish it in less than 10years.
Fifteen: Bill Gates will be 59 this year 2014. If we assume that he will live for another 31 years, he has to spend $6 Million per day to use up all of his wealth.
Sixteen: Michael Jordan is the highest paid athlete in US. If he keeps his annual income of US$30 Million, he'll have to wait for 277 years to become as rich as Bill Gates is now.
Seventeen: If Microsoft Windows’ users could claim $1 for every time their Microsoft Windows freezes, Bill Gates would be bankrupt in about three days! This tells you how many people on earth use Microsoft Windows daily, making money for Gates.
Eighteen: In June 27, 2008, Bill bid farewell to Microsoft as full-time Chairman and decided to take up a full-time philanthropic role in the Bill and Melinda gates foundation, intending to devote all his time to charity work.
Nineteen: Having already given away more than $28 Billion, Bill Gates intends to eradicate polio, with the same drive he brought to Microsoft. What drives you on earth more than just making money? You need something that makes you lose sleep, in order to work as hard as he does.
Twenty: Only US$10 Million out of Bill Gate’s wealth will be inherited by each of his 3 children, with the most part of it, willed for philanthropic activities.
These are mind-blowing facts about a single individual who will forever be remembered not only for his business success but his contributions towards the fight against diseases. What does this article do to you? Can you share with us in the comment box below?
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