Bill Gates
Awards & Honours
6
Awards Won
6
Honours
3
Rankings
4
Covers
3
Records
Gates's honors reflect a career that spans business and philanthropy. He is one of the few people to have received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and an honorary knighthood. His Nobel Peace Prize in 2024 recognized the Gates Foundation's role in global health, particularly its work on polio and malaria. He has been named to TIME's 100 Most Influential People list multiple times and has received honorary degrees from Harvard, Cambridge, and other institutions. His Giving Pledge has inspired over 200 billionaires to commit half their wealth to charity.
Awards
Honours & Distinctions
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Awarded for his philanthropic work.
Nobel Peace Prize
Co-recipient with WHO for global health efforts.
Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
For contributions to business and philanthropy.
National Inventors Hall of Fame
Inducted for his work in technology.
Padma Bhushan
India's third-highest civilian honor.
Order of the Aztec Eagle
Mexico's highest honor for foreigners.
Rankings & Lists
Forbes Billionaires List
TIME 100 Most Influential People
Forbes Most Powerful People
Magazine Covers
TIME
December 2005
Person of the Year
Forbes
Various
World's Richest Man
Wired
Various
Future Predictions
Rolling Stone
1990s
Microsoft's Rise
Records & Feats
Youngest billionaire in history at age 31
After Microsoft's IPO in 1986, Gates became the youngest self-made billionaire at 31.
First centibillionaire
In 1999, Gates's net worth briefly topped $100 billion, making him the first person to reach that mark.
World's richest person for 18 of 24 years
Forbes ranked Gates as the world's richest person for 18 years between 1995 and 2017.