No prizes for guessing Bill Gates has received how many number of awards, titles, honours, citations and other recognitions? He has become a great achiever after whom all the awards and honours run. They all came to Bill automatically. He believed in his work and gave preference to it. The honours received by Bill can be listed with the end ‘to be continued’.
❑ Featuring in the ‘Time’ magazine itself is a great recognition because only the real achievers make it to its pages or cover. The name of Bill Gates appeared in the list of the most influential personalities of the 20th century. The list consisted of 100 top persons who shaped the destiny of the mankind during this period.
❑ For the years 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 Bill Gates appeared in the annual lists of the 100 Most Influential Personalities of the year prepared by ‘Time’ magazine for his remarkable achievements.
❑ Again ‘Time’ listed the names of Gates couple in its roll of honour for humantarian deeds.
❑ ‘New Statesman’ magazine honoured Bill Gates by giving him 8th spot in its 2006 list of ‘Great leaders of our times’.
❑ In 1999 ‘Sunday Times’ included Bill’s name in its list of the most influential persons under the heading ‘The CEO of the Year’ and featured him in ‘Principal Executive Officer’ magazine.
❑ In 1994 also ‘Times’ honoured Bill Gates by placing his name on the top of the list of ‘Leading Fifty Ciber Elete’.
❑ In the list of 100 Most Influential persons of the world ‘The Guardian’ put Bill Gates at the second spot. In the list of 2001-Media’s ‘Exceptional Personalities’ Bill Gates found place in the top one hundred.
❑ So ar Bill Gates has been honoured four times with honorary degrees of doctorate. In 2000 Neon Road University, Brooklyn, awarded him Honorary Doctorate in Business. The Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden decorated him with Dortoral degree in the same subject in 2002. In 2005 Baseda University of Tokyo and in 2007 Harward University of Boston also granted him honorary degrees of doctorate in recognition of his achievements.
❑ In 2005 Queen Elizabeth-II of England conferred on Bill Gates the title of knighthood.
❑ Bill Gates had the honour of delivering special addresses at COMDEX in 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.
❑ Bill Gates and Melinda Gates were given ‘The Prince of Austrian Award for International Cooperation’ on May 4, 2006 for their contributions to humanitarian works worldwide.
❑ Again the Gates couple was awarded the ‘Aztec Eagle Award’ in November 2006 for the humanitarian services in the fields of health and education.
❑ The annual magazine ‘Forbes’ publishes the names of the billionaires of world every year. From 1995 to 2006 Bill Gates ranked at No. 1 place each year as the richest person of the world. In 2007 Warren Buffet displaced him from the top spot.
❑ In the present situation as per the facts the networth of Bill Gates remains amongst the top five or ten wealthiest persons of the world. According to 2007 estimation the Gates family wealth (cash and assets) ranked at the second spot.
❑ According to ‘Fortune’ magazine the Stock Market figures revealed in 2007 financial year Bill Gates overtaken by Mexican Carlos Slim as the biggest earner but in the net wealthiest list Bill stayed at top.
❑ The life of Bill Gates has been the stories are made of. It is no wonder that his biography inspired two movies ‘Nothing So Strange’ and ‘Pirates of Silicon Valley’.
Through his talent and hard work Bill Gates made his fortune and incredible contribution to the technological advancement of the mankind by providing software brain to the computers that changed the world. The great thing about Bill was that he did not get waylaid by riches and the successes. He was conscious to his duties to the fellow human beings at a different level where his software did not work. To share his good fortune with the unfortunate Bill generously worked in the third world countries through his foundation in fighting diseases and illiteracy. The works and contributions of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in health and education sectors have earned high praise all over the globe. And for that noble role Gates have been rightly honoured.