This story appears in the January 17, 2016 issue of Forbes. Subscribe
WHAT WAS THE
What sort of child was Bill?
Just about every kind of book interested him--encyclopedias, science fiction, you name it. I was thrilled that my child was such an avid reader, but he read so much that Bill's mother and I had to institute a rule: no books at the dinner table.
Did Bill ever talk about what he wanted to do or be when he grew up?
As part of a homework assignment in fifth grade, Bill had to fill out a form about what he wanted to be when he grew up. The form included a list of occupations – things like doctor, fireman and cowboy - with check boxes next to each. The expectation was that the student would pick one from the existing list. Although Bill did check the box for “astronaut,” he also drew in an additional box, checked it and wrote “scientist.” Growing up, he was very curious to know how the world worked, and he had his own thoughtful ideas about business, life, international affairs, and what the future might hold. At the time, it would have been hard for me to believe that the frequently argumentative boy across the dinner table would one day be my boss, but here we are.
When did he first get interested in computers?
Very early on. An opportunity came at his school when the mothers raised money to pay for a device that connected to a computer over the phone line. The intention was that the teachers would use it, but they made a few mistakes and got scared of it. Bill was part of a group of math students who were invited to use the system and learn how it worked. By about 13 years old he was hooked.
Did he have jobs before college?
When he was a senior in high school, Bill took a break from classes to do programming at a power plant in North Bonneville, Wash. Bill's mother and I spoke to his high school headmaster, and we were all in agreement that the job would be a practical way to apply his skills and interests. I recall Bill telling me that he and Paul Allen, who worked there with him, would stay up working on code for the electrical grid management system.
How did you feel when Bill told you he was going to drop out of Harvard?
I can't say I wasn't worried. But by then I wasn't much of a factor in those decisions. He had his own ideas about how he wanted to achieve his goals--plus the computer business he had started with Paul Allen had become very demanding. Being a college dropout wasn't precisely what my wife and I had envisioned for any of our children, but Bill seemed to know what he was doing.
You have played a very key role in Bill’s philanthropy. Can you talk about how that developed?
My late wife Mary was a firm believer in an idea from the Book of Luke: “To whom much is given, much is expected.” From the beginning, she instilled it as an important value in our family.
As their wealth grew from Microsoft, Bill and Melinda started receiving lots of letters from nonprofits in the Seattle area asking for charitable contributions. But in those days, it was hard for them to give the time to that sort of thing because raising their family and running Microsoft was very full-time, and having a private family foundation is not a simple operation. Bill and Melinda’s plan was to get serious about philanthropy after Bill retired from Microsoft. That changed after Mary became quite ill with cancer and passed away in 1994, and I retired from my law practice.
Some months later, while we were waiting in line for a movie, I suggested to Bill and Melinda that with my changed condition in life maybe I could help with their charitable activities. I thought it would be a fun retirement job for me and a benefit for them if I reviewed requests for money and gave some away. I called Bill about a week later to follow up and he said, “Well, Dad, we’ve decided that we’re going to establish a foundation with $100 million.” I was stunned and delighted. Not long after that, I wrote the first check: $80,000 for a local cancer program.
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