Technology
How Bill Gates Went From Childhood Nerd to Multi-Billionaire
Today, we know Bill Gates for his philanthropy and a massive $84.9 billion fortune.
However, fewer people remember his younger days. From hacking early computers at the age of 13 to his love-hate relationship with Steve Jobs, here is how Gates went from childhood nerd to a multi-billionaire.
The Bill Gates Story
Today’s infographic is from Adioma, and it visualizes the career of Bill Gates from his earliest days until his latest philanthropy efforts.
Image courtesy of: Adioma
The story of Bill Gates is loaded with examples of hard work, controversy, money, bravado, and even accusations of betrayal.
Key Moments
Here is the lowdown on some of the key moments of his life so far.
Love-Hate Relationships
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are a classic example of “frenemies”. At times they were friends, and at other times they were fierce rivals that said some pretty nasty things.
One of the most memorable moments? In 1997, Microsoft invested money in Apple to keep the struggling company afloat. Gates appeared on the screen during Jobs’ keynote talk at the MacWorld conference, and the audience booed.
See a great summary of the key moments of the complex Gates-Jobs relationship here.
The Microsoft Antitrust Case
Initiated in 1998, Microsoft was accused of becoming a monopoly and engaging in anti-competitive practices by the U.S. government and 20 states.
The ruling from 2000 called for a split of Microsoft, creating two separate companies. One half would house the Windows operating system, and the second half would produce other software. However, Microsoft appealed – and in the end, it didn’t really matter, as other companies like Apple started to eat away at Windows’ market share anyways.
Becomes Richest Man
At age 31, Gates took the title of the world’s youngest billionaire – and at 39, he became the world’s richest person with a fortune of $12.9 billion.
Today, of course, that fortune sits closer to $84.9 billion.
Launches “The Giving Pledge”
In 2010, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett announced “The Giving Pledge”, a campaign to get billionaires to contribute the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. Today, there are 158 signers to the pledge, with pledges totaling $365 billion.
Technology
Countries With the Highest Rates of Crypto Ownership
While the U.S. is a major market for cryptocurrencies, two countries surpass it in terms of their rates of crypto ownership.
Countries With the Highest Rates of Crypto Ownership
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
This graphic ranks the top 10 countries by their rate of cryptocurrency ownership, which is the percentage of the population that owns crypto. These figures come from crypto payment gateway, Triple-A, and are as of 2023.
Data and Highlights
The table below lists the rates of crypto ownership in the top 10 countries, as well as the number of people this amounts to.
| Country | % of Population Who Own Crypto | # of Crypto Owners |
|---|---|---|
| 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | 30.4 | 3M |
| 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 21.2 | 21M |
| 🇺🇸 U.S. | 15.6 | 53M |
| 🇮🇷 Iran | 13.5 | 12M |
| 🇵🇭 Philippines | 13.4 | 16M |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 12 | 26M |
| 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 11.4 | 4M |
| 🇸🇬 Singapore | 11.1 | 665K |
| 🇺🇦 Ukraine | 10.6 | 4M |
| 🇻🇪 Venezuela | 10.3 | 3M |
Note that if we were to rank countries based on their actual number of crypto owners, India would rank first at 93 million people, China would rank second at 59 million people, and the U.S. would rank third at 52 million people.
The UAE Takes the Top Spot
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) boasts the highest rates of crypto ownership globally. The country’s government is considered to be very crypto friendly, as described in Henley & Partners’ Crypto Wealth Report 2023:
In the UAE, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA-ADGM) was the first to provide rules and regulations regarding cryptocurrency purchasing and selling. The Emirates are generally very open to new technologies and have proposed zero taxes for crypto owners and businesses.
Vietnam leads Southeast Asia
According to the Crypto Council for Innovation, cryptocurrency holdings in Vietnam are also untaxed, making them an attractive asset.
Another reason for Vietnam’s high rates of ownership could be its large unbanked population (people without access to financial services). Cryptocurrencies may provide an alternative means of accessing these services without relying on traditional banks.
Learn More About Crypto From Visual Capitalist
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out The World’s Largest Corporate Holders of Bitcoin, which ranks the top 12 publicly traded companies by their Bitcoin holdings.
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