The Ascent of Bill Gates

Where it all began: The 11 people who started the Microsoft Corporation in 1978. In case you haven't spotted him, that's Bill at bottom left Photograph: AP

MS-DUO: Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1983, just after signing the contract to write MS-DOS for IBM Photograph: Doug Wilson/Corbis

Cover man: Gates, seen here fronting the April 16 1984 edition of Time magazine, has appeared on its cover no fewer than eight times Photograph: Time Life Pictures/Getty

Cool Bill: Gates relaxes on his desk soon after the release of Windows 1.0 in 1985 Photograph: Deborah Feingold/Corbis

Mug's game: This police mugshot of Gates - taken in December 1977 after he was allegedly caught speeding in New Mexico - surfaced online at The Smoking Gun in the late 90s Photograph: Public domain

Now you see it: Bill Gates introduces the company's Windows software in New York, in May 1990 Photograph: Marty Lederhandler/AP

Start him up: Bill Gates sits on stage during a video portion of the Windows 95 Launch Event on the company's campus in Redmond, Washington, in August 1995. Photograph: AP

Pie-eyed: Not everyone loves Bill or his company's business practices, as evidenced by this pie-in-the-face attack at a meeting in Brussels in 1998 Photograph: AP

Mr Grumpy: In June of 1999, a US judge found that Microsoft had violated antitrust laws. Gates was not impressed Photograph: Mark Wilson/Reuters

Bye-bye Bill: In January 2000 Gates announced that he would be stepping down as Microsoft chief executive, to be replaced by an obviously ecstatic Steve Ballmer Photograph: Anthony Bolante/Reuters

Saint Bill: The Gates Foundation has spent millions of dollars on children's health around the world, such as this polio vaccination programme in New Delhi Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex Features

The geek speaks: Gates is well known for his keynote addresses at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In 2001, he unveiled Microsoft's foray into the videogame business, the Xbox Photograph: John Gurzinski/AFP

Bill and Bob: Never one to avoid the spotlight or miss a photo op, Gates joined Sir Bob Geldof on stage during the Live8 concert in Hyde Park, London, July 2005 Photograph: Dan Chung/Guardian

World stage: In one of his final official acts as Microsoft chairman, Gates attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2008 Photograph: Peter Dejong/AP

Guitar man: Bill Gates at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January. Photograph: Andrew Gombert/EPA

Farewell: Bill Gates walks off stage after his last-ever keynote address at the CES this year. Photograph: Paul Sakuma /AP