919 verified milestones in strict chronological order spanning 1955–2026—from a Harvard dorm room and the Altair 8800 to TerraPower, CRISPR cures, and the Foundation's 2045 sunset plan. The whole arc, year by year. Gates Foundation Trust Sells Off the Last of Its Microsoft Stock: In the first quarter of 2026, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust sold its remaining Microsoft shares, fully exiting a position in the company that created Gates's fortune. Gates-Backed Commonwealth Fusion Installs Its First Magnet: Commonwealth Fusion Systems installed the first of 18 high-temperature superconducting magnets in its SPARC tokamak near Boston, targeting 'first plasma' in 2026. TerraPower Begins Building America's First Utility-Scale Advanced Reactor in Wyoming: On April 23, 2026, TerraPower formally commenced nuclear construction of its 345-megawatt Natrium sodium-cooled reactor in Kemmerer, Wyoming following NRC approval. Gates-Funded Monoclonal Antibody Shows Early Promise as a Single-Shot Malaria Shield: In a first-in-human trial sponsored by the Gates Medical Research Institute, long-acting monoclonal antibody MAM01 protected volunteers against malaria. Gates Joins a $600 Million 'Beginnings Fund' for Mothers and Newborns: Launched in April 2025 to curb maternal and newborn deaths across Africa. In His Memoir, Gates Reflects on Neurodiversity: In 'Source Code: My Beginnings,' Gates noted that if growing up today, he would likely be diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Foundation Sunset Commitment: Gates pledged to give away 99% of his fortune and announced the Gates Foundation would permanently close on December 31, 2045. Melinda French Gates Resigns From Foundation: Resigned as co-chair effective June 7, 2024, receiving $12.5 billion to direct toward her independent philanthropy through Pivotal Ventures. Netflix Premieres 'What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates': A five-part documentary series exploring artificial intelligence, misinformation, climate change, income inequality, and infectious disease. 2023: Publication of Tim Schwab's investigative book 'The Bill Gates Problem'; IRS claims Microsoft owes $28.9 billion in back taxes over transfer pricing (2004–2013); TerraPower breaks ground on Natrium reactor site. 2022: Gates transfers $20 billion to the Foundation; Breakthrough Energy Catalyst awards $50 million grant to LanzaJet's Freedom Pines alcohol-to-jet fuel facility. 2021: Bill and Melinda Gates announce their divorce after 27 years of marriage; Gates publishes 'How to Avoid a Climate Disaster'; WHO approves Mosquirix (RTS,S), the world's first malaria vaccine. 2020: Stepped down from Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway boards of directors; Foundation commits over $2 billion toward COVID-19 pandemic response and co-leads COVAX. 2019: Co-founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures Fund II; Gates Foundation invests $55 million in BioNTech to develop mRNA vaccines for HIV and tuberculosis. 2018: Gates Foundation creates the Gates Medical Research Institute; TerraPower advances traveling-wave and Natrium nuclear reactor designs. 2017: Co-founded the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) at Davos with $460 million in initial funding. 2016: Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama; established Breakthrough Energy Ventures with a $1 billion fund. 2015: Delivered viral TED Talk warning the world was unprepared for a catastrophic global pandemic; co-founded Mission Innovation at COP21. 2014: Stepped down as Microsoft Chairman to become Technology Advisor to new CEO Satya Nadella. 2011: Launched the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge to develop off-grid waterless sanitation. 2010: Co-founded the Giving Pledge with Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett; pledged $10 billion for a 'Decade of Vaccines.' 2008: Stepped down from full-time daily role at Microsoft to focus on the Gates Foundation. 2000: Stepped down as Microsoft CEO, naming Steve Ballmer successor; established the consolidated Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 1999: Net worth briefly peaked above $100 billion during the dot-com boom. 1998: United States v. Microsoft Corp. antitrust trial begins. 1995: Microsoft releases Windows 95 and Internet Explorer; Gates publishes 'The Road Ahead' and tops the Forbes billionaire rankings for the first time. 1989: Released Microsoft Office bundling Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; founded Corbis. 1986: Microsoft completes its initial public offering on NASDAQ at $21 per share. 1985: Shipped Windows 1.0; debuted Microsoft Word and Excel on Apple Macintosh. 1980: Signed contract with IBM to supply MS-DOS for the IBM Personal Computer. 1975: Co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico after developing a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800; took leave of absence from Harvard University. 1955: Born William Henry Gates III on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington. When did Bill Gates found Microsoft? April 4, 1975, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, together with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Gates was 19 and had just left Harvard. Their first product was a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800; the company moved to the Seattle area in 1979 and went public in March 1986. When did Bill Gates become the world's richest person? He first topped the Forbes list of the world's richest people in 1995, at age 39. He held the number-one position for 13 of the 16 years between 1995 and 2009, peaking at roughly $101 billion in 1999 during the dot-com boom — the first 'centibillionaire' in the modern era. When did Bill Gates step down from Microsoft? In stages. He handed the CEO role to Steve Ballmer in January 2000 and became Chief Software Architect; he moved to full-time work at the Gates Foundation in July 2008; and he left Microsoft's board of directors entirely in March 2020 — 45 years after founding the company. When was Bill Gates born? October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington, as William Henry Gates III. He attended Lakeside School — where he wrote his first program at 13 — then Harvard College from 1973 until 1975, when he left to start Microsoft. When did the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation start? In 2000, formed by consolidating earlier Gates family charities (the William H. Gates Foundation, founded 1994, and the Gates Learning Foundation). It became the largest private charitable foundation in the world and has announced it will spend down its entire endowment and close permanently by December 31, 2045.