At 31 Bill Gates became the youngest billionaire ever. At 39 he was the richest man on earth. What have some of the milestones along his path been?
Gates has had an unusual confluence of circumstances, family, luck, personal qualities, and perfect timing that have shaped his path. From age 8 Gates had access to a computer at his school, where he could learn to program - a luxury very few people at all had at that point in history - which happened to be the dawn of personal computing. This opportunity for an early start and his own ambition and perseverance (which got him banned from school for a while for hacking), helped him clock in10,000 hours of practice before even finishing high school.
Gates worked 16-hour days and never stopped learning and improving himself. He reads one book a week and believes he can improve the way he thinks by following the advice outlined in John Medina’s book Brain Rules which summarizes what scientists know about the brain and then offers practical ideas for our daily lives.
Luck, of course, has also played a part in his story. Like meeting Paul Allen while he was still a teenager, or working with Steve Jobs and being inspired to create Windows.
This infographic created by Anna Vital outlines some of the key moments of Bill Gates’ early life.
Infographic by Anna Vital / fundersandfounders.com
