Photo: © European Union, 2025, CC By 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Who He Is:
Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft and helped bring personal computers into homes and schools around the world. From a young age, he loved solving problems with code and spent hours experimenting with early computers. Under his leadership, Microsoft developed software such as Windows, which became the standard for millions of users. Today, he also works on global health and education through his foundation.
Why He Matters:
Gates proved that passion for coding could grow into innovations that changed everyday life. His journey demonstrates to teens that curiosity, persistence, and a willingness to take risks can lead to a worldwide impact. Beyond technology, his philanthropy underscores the importance of leveraging success to benefit others.
Learn More About Bill Gates
Go deeper with these hand-picked resources. Each one is selected by our team of educators to connect kids to this career through real stories and hands-on learning.
Source Code: My Beginnings
Why We Picked It
This memoir reveals the curiosity, early coding experiments, and key partnership that led Bill Gates to co-found Microsoft and reshape the entire personal computing industry.
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
Why We Picked It
Bill Gates outlines a clear, science-based path toward sustainability, showing how technology innovation and collective effort can solve the world's most urgent environmental challenges.
Who Is Bill Gates? (Who Was?)
Why We Picked It
This fast-paced biography shows how a computer-obsessed kid turned big ideas, relentless curiosity, and coding talent into one of the most transformative technology companies in history.
