Bill Gates is famous for co-founding Microsoft and shaping the computer age. But USA TODAY, the Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, predicts, " H]is most lasting influence may be in philanthropy as he now sets himself to giving away his vast fortune." People who knew Bill Gates as a child could not have guessed at the fame and riches in his future. He discovered an interest in computers at a young age, and dropped out of college to start one of the world's most successful companies and help usher in a new era of technology. But business and technology do not completely define the Microsoft leader. In 2000, Bill Gates and his wife started the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Taking up issues such as poverty, famine, and disease around the world, the Foundation plans to give billions of dollars to search for solutions and support people in need. With one of the world's most successful companies and an immense charitable network behind him, Bill Gates is posed to make an incredible impact on the world.