Gates Named Richest in U.S.

William H. Gates III, Harvard dropout and computer tycoon, has been named the wealthiest person in America by Forbes magazine.

Gates, 36, is the founder and owned of Microsoft Corp., a mammoth software firm based in Redmond, Wash. He dropped out of Harvard in 1975 to found Microsoft, now the world's largest microcomputer software company.

Gates owns $6.7 billion in Microsoft stock and receives royalties on all computers sold using his MS-DOS operating system, the first such system developed for IBM back in 1980.

The magazine said Gates' net worth is $6.3 billion.

Gates entered Harvard as a first-year student in 1973 and lived in Currier House for a year until he withdrew from the College in 1975.

Professor of History of Science Barbara G. Rosenkrantz '44, Currier master at the time, said Gates was not a standout in house life.

"He was not usually in the house at that time," Rosenkrantz said, adding that she supposes he spent his hours at the computer lab.

Gates was also overshadowed by another noted Currier resident, cellist Yo Yo Ma '76, Rosenkrantz said.

Gates never completed his college education. And his involvement with Harvard activities since leaving the University has been scant, according to John P. Reardon '60, executive director of the Harvard Alumni Association.

Reardon said Gates has had some contact with the school through a Microsoft colleague and fellow Forbes 400 member, Steven A. Ballmer '77.

Forbes lists Ballmer's net worth as $1.1 billion and he has a "more intense interest" in Harvard, according to Reardon.

"Steve probably keeps [Gates] pretty aware of Harvard," Reardon said.

But other colleges have been far more fortunate than Harvard. Gates recently donated $6 million to Stanford University for a new computer lab which will bear his name. And last year, he donated $12 million to the University of Washington.

"He's beginning to give philanthropically," Reardon said.

Reardon said Gates is more likely to back programs that advance the field of computer science, rather than particular schools.

But he said that he "wouldn't be surprised" ifGates were invited to speak at the HarvardBusiness School in the near future.

Gates, 36, lives in Medina, a very exclusivesection of Seattle bordering Lake Washington,where he is building a $35-million mansion. Aself-described "hard-core technoid," Gates is notmarried.

Besides Gates, this year's Forbes 400 alsoincludes such wealthy Americans as Atlanta mediamagnate Ted Turner, entertainer Bill Cosby andpresidential candidate Ross Perot. Gates displacesMetromedia founder John W. Kluge, who topped thelist for the last three years

But he said that he "wouldn't be surprised" ifGates were invited to speak at the HarvardBusiness School in the near future.

Gates, 36, lives in Medina, a very exclusivesection of Seattle bordering Lake Washington,where he is building a $35-million mansion. Aself-described "hard-core technoid," Gates is notmarried.

Besides Gates, this year's Forbes 400 alsoincludes such wealthy Americans as Atlanta mediamagnate Ted Turner, entertainer Bill Cosby andpresidential candidate Ross Perot. Gates displacesMetromedia founder John W. Kluge, who topped thelist for the last three years