One wonders whether the young, 13-year old computer hobbyist from Seattle, Washington knew just how far his passion would take him in the decades ahead. William Henry Gates III ended up forging a path that didnât just make him one of the most powerful and influential men in the world, but also simultaneously changed the course of humanity.

From hacking campus software to signing deals with IBM at the age of 25, Gates knew how to play the game, and he did so with ruthless tenacity - behind the coderâs screen and in front of the entire world, as the 65-year old tech titan steps down from Microsoft's board of directors this Friday.

Here are some of the most incredible things heâs created and achieved over the years..

BASIC Interpreter

© CNBC

Gatesâ early career was one hell of a story to begin with - somewhat reminiscent of Mark Zuckerbergâs actions in 2004, Gates dropped out of Harvard University on a mission to start his own company. It all began in 1975, when, on reading the January issue of Popular Electronics, he noticed a demonstration of the Altair 8800 microcomputer platform. Partnering with Paul Allen, Gates set up a meeting with Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), while doing three very important things - writing code to emulate Altair, creating the BASIC interpreter software and finding a name for his new company - Allen named their partnership "Micro-Soft", a combination of "microcomputer" and "software".

The IBM Partnership

© Washington(dot)edu

Perhaps the most important, crucial catalyst for modern computing to bloom, this key series of events began with IBM approaching Microsoft in 1980 to develop software for the original IBM Personal Computer. After learning that IBM was interested in getting someone to develop an operating system for the iconic machine, Gates and Allen cut a deal with the owners of QDOS, or the âQuick & Dirty Operating Systemâ. Soon, âPC-DOSâ was delivered to IBM for a one-time fee of $50,000.

This deal spurred massive global interest in Microsoft, which sold âMS-DOSâ to the tune of 100 million copies in subsequent years, and truly transformed Gatesâ life.

The Launch Of Windows

© Microsoft

The mid-eighties were a trying time for Gates. He had already lost one of his best friends to a mountain climbing accident in college, and after heated fights over assets with his partner Paul Allen, he learnt that he is suffering from Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. He then left Microsoft in 1983.

It was during these dark days that Gates presided over the development and launch of a program originally known as âInterface Managerâ, that would eventually form an extension of MS-DOS known as Windows 1.0. Introducing Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Reversi, Terminal and Write, the new operating system duelled against Apple until eventually dominating 77% of the worldâs computers.

Becoming The Worldâs Youngest Self-Made Billionaire

© Fortune Magazine

âI don't think anyone at the company is in it for the money," Gates said in a 1984 interview. Just 3 years later, however, he would make it to the cover of Fortune magazine, as the youngest person to make it to a billion bucks. Still, despite the fame and (pun intended) fortune, Gates kept his focus on bringing accessible computing to the world.

"It's a much more exciting field than trying to measure exactly how much we're selling or how much it's worth,â he continued. âThe creation of these programs is something you can sit down and see people enjoying and solving real problems.â

The Launch Of Windows 95

© Microsoft

Looking back at the history of computing, Windows 95 truly was the gamechanger that led to the experience we have with using PCs today. 

The original Windows 1.0 OS was essentially a graphical version of MS-DOS, born to compete against the GUI on Apple's 'Lisa'. In comparison, Windows 95 was designed to replace MS-DOS and enabled revolutionary features such as multi-tasking, Plug and Play and a modern desktop experience we can still effectively use today.

Becoming The Worldâs Richest

© Reuters

Bill Gates became the richest man on the planet at the age of 39, and he stayed at number one on the Forbes list of the World's Richest People until 2007, just a year before stepping away from the CEOâs office. Gates was worth more than $101 billion in 1999; while Wired reports that, when Microsoft stock hit a high in 1996, he was earning $30 million a day.

To Becoming The Worldâs Most Generous

© Reuters

If revolutionising the world wasnât enough, once Gates stepped down as CEO in 2008, he and his wife Melinda Gates put all their attention towards charity work, focusing on building up global initiatives in healthcare, agriculture, gender equality and especially education. With a total donation grant corpus of over $50 billion, their foundation became the most generous charitable organisation in the world.

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