What are bill gates?

Bill Gates

William Henry "Bill" Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. Gates is the former chief executive and current chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer software company, which he co-founded with Paul Allen. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people and was the wealthiest overall from 1995 to 2009, excluding 2008, when he was ranked third; in 2011 he was the wealthiest American and the second wealthiest person. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of CEO and chief software architect, and remains the largest individual shareholder, with 6.4 percent of the common stock. He has also authored or co-authored several books.

Read more about Bill Gates.

Famous quotes containing the words bill and/or gates:

    Is a Bill of Rights a security for [religious liberty]? If there were but one sect in America, a Bill of Rights would be a small protection for liberty.... Freedom derives from a multiplicity of sects, which pervade America, and which is the best and only security for religious liberty in any society. For where there is such a variety of sects, there cannot be a majority of any one sect to oppress and persecute the rest.
    James Madison (1751–1836)

    Now, from the Gates of Hercules we flood
    Westward, westward till the barbarous brine
    Whelms us to the tired land where tasseling corn,
    Fat beans, grapes sweeter than muscadine
    Rot on the vine: in that land were we born.
    Allen Tate (1899–1979)