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Bill Gates's Hobby Journey
b. 1955
Co-founder of Microsoft, philanthropist, one of the wealthiest people in historyHobby Timeline
Childhood
Reading (World Book encyclopedia by age 8)MathChessStrategy board games
Teens / Early Career
Programming and computersDeep readingMathematics
Career Peak
Think Weeks (solo cabin reading retreats)Bridge (with Warren Buffett)Reading (a book a week)
Later Life
TennisSettlers of CatanReading nonfictionPhilanthropic travel
Surprising hobbies
- ✦Plays bridge competitively — deepened through his famous friendship with Warren Buffett
- ✦Hosts 'Think Weeks': entire weeks alone in a Pacific Northwest cabin reading and thinking
- ✦Settlers of Catan game nights with his family
How hobbies shaped their career
His childhood habit of deep, uninterrupted reading and thinking became the foundation of his analytical approach to business and philanthropy. Think Weeks at Microsoft led to major strategic pivots, including the famous 'Internet Tidal Wave' memo. A 1993 trip to Africa with Melinda transformed his philanthropic focus entirely.
"When I felt restless or bored I would disappear into my room and lose myself in books or ideas, often for hours without interruption. This ability to turn idle time into deep thinking became a fundamental part of who I am."
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