By Natalie Wetzel | Jun 21, 2023 at 6:18 p.m
It is well known that the wildest conspiracy myths are told about Bill Gates, but one thing is proven: as a young man he got into trouble with the police. The developers at Microsoft made a little joke with the police photo.
Some youthful sins haunt you for a lifetime, sometimes even on a late-night show. Bill Gates – actually William Henry Gates III – also had to experience this. Today’s multi-billionaire accomplished a lot in his twenties that is worth remembering. For example, after two years he gave up his math studies with a vengeance, making him one of the most famous college graduates in recent history alongside Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. It should be known that something has become of him anyway.
The mad programmer
Besides working at his start-up, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is said to have led a very free-spirited life, including pool parties and wild jaunts. In 1977, however, one of those trips ended unexpectedly at the Albuquerque, New Mexico police station.
Exactly what the then 22-year-old was guilty of is no longer known in detail. Media reports sometimes talk about running a red light or a stop sign, sometimes exceeding the permitted speed limit. To make matters worse, Bill Gates probably didn’t have his driver’s license with him and that was enough for an arrest and a police photo. Did he have any idea at the time what his employees would make of this story?
Also Read: 6 Things Bill Gates Predicted Back in 1999
Mug shot in Windows operating system
The now iconic police photo not only serves as a reminder of this incident for Bill Gates. With a mischievous grin, smart glasses and a stand-up collar, he looks into the camera. He also wears a tag with his identification number around his neck, as seen in old films. The developers of Window 8 took advantage of the striking silhouette of this snapshot and incorporated the image into several versions of the operating system. Attentive users could also discover the stylized police picture in Outlook 2010 – as a standard profile picture.
The yellow Gates
It is unclear whether Bill Gates commissioned this Easter egg himself or whether his employees were joking on their own. But the fifth richest man in the world has been used as a template for jokes and humorous formats before, for example in The Simpsons in season 9, episode 14. In this episode, the yellow Bill Gates announces that he will buy Homer’s software invention, even if he buys hers Use not quite understands. Better he owns it than the competition. The episode thus alludes to Bill Gates’ very rigorous crackdown on competitors in the industry. But instead of paying the family man, the yellow Gates orders his bodyguards to smash Homer’s desk. With a gleeful laugh, the character Gates announces that he didn’t become a millionaire by paying other people, after all.
The real Bill Gates, on the other hand, founded the “Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation” for development aid in 2000. Maybe also to compensate for his previous traffic sins? Incidentally, Bill Gates now also has a college degree, without a degree. In 2009 he received an honorary degree from Harvard University for his contribution to science and technical progress and for the social commitment of his foundation.