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Explore what shaped Bill Gates in part one of his autobiography

A driven teenager up nights working on computer schemes. Could this be Bill Gates? Chris Stokel-Walker reads the much anticipated story of the billionaires's early years, as told by the man himself

By Chris Stokel-Walker

5 February 2025

Bill & Paul Allen at teletype machine, Lakeside yearbook photo (1969-1970)

Bill Gates (right) and Paul Allen, his childhood friend and Microsoft co-founder in the late 1960s

Lakeside School

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Bill Gates (Allen Lane)

There are few people in the world of technology with more interesting stories to tell than Bill Gates. The entrepreneur and co-founder of Microsoft has seen computers morph from hulking machines that fill entire rooms – and cost thousands of dollars a day to use – to tiny, handheld devices that can be picked up for comparative pennies. He has seen, and changed his mind on the importance of, the rise of the internet and…

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