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As the co-founder and chairman of the mammoth Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates is the moving force behind a company that has been regarded as "The Most Innovative Company Operating in the U.S." (1993, Forbes magazines). Microsoft introduced several revolutionary technological advancements in the computer industry that made the company the first truly dominant player among home computer operating systems. Microsoft also created the most widely used operating system in the world, Microsoft Windows.

Gates is widely regarded as the brains behind the Microsoft Corporation, primarily responsible for product strategy from the time the company was founded in 1975 until 2006. Among his key contributions are extensively broadening the company's product lines and vigorously defending Microsoft's dominant position in its key areas of operation. And while some of his decisions have led to antitrust litigation over Microsoft's business practices, his reputation as one of the most popular and respected entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution remains intact. His fame actually surpasses the realm of computers and business and extends into mainstream society. For instance, in a 2006 list compiled by New Statesman magazine, Gates was voted eighth in the "Heroes of Our Time" category.

In June 2006, Gates announced that he will be handing the reins of Microsoft's day-to-day operations to someone else by July 2008 to concentrate on the philanthropic work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, although he will continue to serve as the company's chairman and as an advisor on special projects. Plans are already afoot to transfer Gates' role as Chief Software Architect of Microsoft to Ray Ozzie, the former head honcho of the Groove company which Microsoft purchased in 2005.

Gates has donated several millions of dollars to various charitable groups and scientific research studies. By some estimates, Gates has contributed over half his fortune to charity. Even if such were the case, he can easily afford it. Recently, the prestigious Forbes magazine named Gates as the world's richest person for the 12th straight year, with a 2006 net worth of $50 billion. Incidentally, he actually became the world's first "centibillionaire" in 1999 when his net worth surpassed the 100 billion mark briefly.