Some of the awards he has won are the Silver Buffalo award which won in 2010, the Bower Award of Leadership in 2010 as well. William Henry Gates III is born to attorney William Henry Gates II and Mary Gates,he started off at elementary school but His parents, teacher and principal new that he had unique brainpower so his school principal said he should attend a private school so his parents put him in Lakeside school in 1967 Share. The William H. Gates Foundation merges with the Gates Learning Foundation to form the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: our foundation. He dropped out of college to start Microsoft with his childhood friend Paul Allen. 1995: In July, at age 39 and with a fortune of $12.9 billion, Gates becomes the world’s richest man. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Formed. Inspiring the era of the home computer . In 2002, Bill Gates & Melinda Gates received the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service Benefiting the disadvantaged people. 1. In 2010, Bill Gates received the Bower Award for Business Leadership from The Franklin Institute. The new foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer. Bill Gates, American computer programmer and entrepreneur who cofounded Microsoft Corporation, the world’s largest personal-computer software company. He grew up in Seattle, Washington, with an amazing and supportive family who encouraged his interest in computers at an early age. In 1992 Bill Gates also won the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and two years later he won the Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society award. The Gateses consolidate their charitable giving under the William H. Gates Foundation, named for Gates’ father, who agrees to manage the foundation. For the recognition of his valuable achievements at Microsoft & his philanthropic work. Bill Gates is a technologist, business leader, and philanthropist. Bill Gates Awards & Achievements. Bill Gates has won many awards. Learn more about his life and career. In addition, he and his wife established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Share The United Nations Sets Eradication Goals. During the late 1960s, Bill Gates and his school friend Paul Allen learnt the BASIC programming language whilst studying at Lakeside School in Seattle. It is later absorbed into the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.