Bill Gates is widely considered one of the world's most influential people. Time magazine named him one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th century, as well as one of the 100 most influential people of 2004, 2005 and again in 2006.
Bill Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. He is widely respected for his intelligence, foresight, and ambition.
Gates is the co-founder, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, the world's largest software company.
After being at the helm of his company for 25 years, Bill Gates has announced he will end his day-to-day role as head of software giant Microsoft by July 2008.
"I'm not leaving Microsoft," said Mr Gates.
"What's happening now is we're starting the transition plan... I'll be working as hard as I ever have during these next years."
The firm said it would take two years to make sure the transition takes place smoothly.
Technology and philantropy have been Bill Gates' passions. Mr. Gates has made Microsoft's windows operating system as the dominant and most widely used software in the world. In achieving this global foothold, his competitors and critics have accused him of unfair business practices.
A case was filed in a US Court in 1998 against Microsoft by the United States Department of Justice and twenty U.S. states. The plaintiffs alleged that Microsoft abused monopoly power in its handling of operating system sales and web browser sales. The issue central to the case was whether Microsoft was allowed to bundle its flagship Internet Explorer (IE) web browser software with its Microsoft Windows operating system. Bundling them together is alleged to have been responsible for Microsoft's victory in the browser wars as every Windows user had a copy of Internet Explorer.
Over the past decade Mr Gates has made a name as one of the world's top philanthropists, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledging $7bn to good causes.
Mr Gates has decided to reduce his involvement with Microsoft so that he can spend more time on health and education work at his charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Set up in 2000 by Mr Gates and his wife Melinda from the merger of two family charitable trusts, the foundation has a $27bn endowment and is dedicated to promoting greater equality in global health and learning.
Mr Gates has said his long term vision is to improve the lives of millions of people across the globe.
It is no small order, but Microsoft's co-founder is one of the few people in the world whose money may actually be able to match his words.
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