Bill Gates and Paul Allen began working on microcomputers while still at Seattle’s Lakeside School. They founded Microsoft in 1975, and nearly a decade later, the company was recognized as the world's most powerful producer of microcomputer software. In 1984, the company was in the process of developing the Windows operating system and other applications to make PCs easier for the consumer to use.

Here, Bill Gates, aged 28, sits at his desk at Microsoft with two microcomputers and two telephones. Microsoft materials fill the bookcase. While known for his casual image, his hard driving of employees, and his 60-to-80-hour work weeks, Gates also enjoyed tennis and skiing. At this point, Microsoft had around 500 employees, including some 50 in Europe and Japan.

Caption information source: “A hard-driving program is key to tycoon’s success”, by John Hessberg, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 29, 1984, page A26.