Name William Gates, | ||
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Full Name William Henry Gates II Grandchildren Jennifer Katharine Gates, Phoebe Adele Gates, Rory John Gates Books Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes Parents William Henry Gates I, Lillian Elizabeth Rice Similar People | ||
William h gates sr
William Henry "Bill" Gates (born William Henry Gates II; November 30, 1925), also known publicly as Bill Gates Sr. is a retired American attorney and philanthropist and author of the book Showing Up for Life: Thoughts on the Gifts of a Lifetime. He is the father of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
Contents
- William h gates sr
- TEDxRainier Bill Gates Sr
- Life and career
- World Justice Project
- Awards and recognition
- References
One of a line of businessmen named William H. Gates, and sometimes called William Gates Jr. in his career, he is now generally known as William Henry Gates Sr. due to the greater prominence of his son William H. Gates III.
TEDxRainier - Bill Gates Sr.
Life and career
Gates was born in Bremerton, Washington, to a family consisting of William Henry Gates I or Sr. (Bremerton, Washington, March 14, 1891 – Bremerton, Washington, 1969), and wife (married in Tacoma, Washington, July 14, 1913) Lillian Elizabeth Rice (Bremerton, Washington, April 23, 1891 – Bremerton, Washington, November 27, 1966). His paternal grandmother was German and his maternal grandmother was English, and he was apparently the third William Henry Gates, despite being named the second. Gates was an active member of a Boy Scout troop for several years, and earned the Eagle Scout Award in 1941. After high school he enlisted in the United States Army, changing his name to William Gates Jr. to avoid the appearance of elitism. He fought in World War II and was honorably discharged in November 1946.
He attended the University of Washington (UW) under the G.I. Bill, where he earned a B.A. in 1949 and a law degree in 1950. While at Washington he joined the Chi Psi Fraternity. He co-founded Shidler & King in 1964, which later became Preston Gates & Ellis LLP. He practiced with the firm until 1998, and the firm was merged into the firm now known as K&L Gates (Bill Gates Sr. is not affiliated with the firm).
Gates also served on the board of Planned Parenthood.
In 1998, Gates retired from PGE. He currently serves on the Board of Regents for the University of Washington, and is a co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which his son Bill and his son's wife Melinda founded. He has served as a director for Costco Wholesale, a bulk retail corporation, since 2003. He is also a founding co-chair of the Pacific Health Summit. He has adopted the suffix "Sr." to distinguish himself from his more famous son.
Gates is co-author, with Chuck Collins, of the book Wealth and Our Commonwealth: Why America Should Tax Accumulated Fortunes, a defense of the policies promoted by the estate tax.
He married Mary Maxwell Gates (b. 1931), whom he met at UW, and married until she died in 1994. They had three children: Kristianne, Bill, and Libby. In 1996 Gates married Mimi Gardner Gates (b.1943), who was the director of the Seattle Art Museum.
World Justice Project
William H. Gates Sr. serves as an Honorary Co-Chair for the World Justice Project. The World Justice Project works to lead a global, multidisciplinary effort to strengthen the Rule of Law for the development of communities of opportunity and equity.