The Man Who Could Buy Anything

Bill Gates is the richest private citizen in the world. There is nothing he can’t afford. Every morning, when his alarm goes off, the software tycoon is $20 million richer than when he went to bed. His wealth is based on his company, Microsoft, of which he owns 39 % of the shares. He has a personal fortune estimated ₤18 billion, which is more than annual economic output of over a hundred countries.

He is not shy about spending it. He has built a mansion overlooking Lake Washington that he’s packed with high-tech gadgetry and monitors, some taking up the entire wall. Visitors are given a smart card encoded with their personal preferences, so that, as they wander from room to room, their favourite pictures will appear on the screens, and the music they like will play. The card is programmed so that only the most intimate friends can open all the doors

This cold-blooded approach to human relationships also seems to be true of his love life. When he went out with an ex-girlfriend, Ann Winblad, who is now a very successful businesswoman, the couple conducted much of their relationship by going on virtual dates. Each would drive alone to the same movie at the same time in different towns, and then talk about it afterwards on their mobiles, discussing the plots and swapping opinions. When finally he got married, he and his wife Melinda, signed an agreement that allows him to go on an annual holiday with his ex-lover, Ann, leaving his wife behind.

While studying at Harvard University he managed to be in the same class as the girls he fancied by inserting a piece of software into the college computer. But he never finished college. When he left, he knew exactly what to do. He started up his own computer company.

The reason why Microsoft has been so successful is because Gates saw that his fortune lay in software, not hardware. He became a billionaire at 31, and since then Microsoft has created Windows, which is a system that can be run by clicking on icons with a mouse.

Now the multi-billionaire, whose software is used in two-thirds of the world’s computers, is developing the HPC, or hand-held personal computer. It is his intention that there should be a computer in the pocket of everybody in the whole world.

1. How wealthy is Bill Gates?

2. How much does he earn a day?

3. What is special about his house?

4. What is unusual about his relationships with women?

5. What did he do to the computer at Harvard?

6. What do you think the secret of his success is?

7. What is Windows?

8. Can you operate Windows? Are you good at it?

Unit 2