[← Famous Hobby Journeys](https://significanthobbies.com/journeys)

💻

# Bill Gates's Hobby Journey

b. 1955

Co-founder of Microsoft, philanthropist, one of the wealthiest people in history

## Hobby Timeline

### Childhood

Reading (World Book encyclopedia by age 8)  Math  Chess  Strategy board games

### Teens / Early Career

Programming and computers  Deep reading  Mathematics

### Career Peak

Think Weeks (solo cabin reading retreats)  Bridge (with Warren Buffett)  Reading (a book a week)

### Later Life

Tennis  Settlers of Catan  Reading nonfiction  Philanthropic 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.”
>
>
>
> — Bill Gates

## Map your own hobby journey

What hobbies have shaped your life? Create your own timeline.

[Start your timeline →](https://significanthobbies.com/timeline/new)

[← See all famous journeys](https://significanthobbies.com/journeys)

> Source: https://significanthobbies.com/journeys/bill-gates