William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate , investor, philanthropist, and writer best known for co-founding the software giant Microsoft , along with his childhood friend Paul Allen . [2] [3] During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions of chairman , chief executive officer (CEO), president , and chief software architect , while also being its largest individual shareholder until May 2014. [4] He was a major entrepreneur of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s. Gates was born and raised in Seattle, Washington . In 1975, he and Allen founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico . It later became the world's largest personal computer software company. [5] [a] Gates led the company as its chairman and chief executive officer until s...