--- description: Bill Gates, philanthropist and cofounder of Microsoft, turned 60 years old on Wednesday. Indian students thanked him with a big celebration. title: Students In India Honor Bill Gates On His Birthday image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fdef1b53cfe6b19/69886e86bc6cfc72713da1ea/bill-gates-celebration.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Students In India Held A Massive Celebration to Honor Bill Gates On His Birthday by [Lisa Eadicicco](/author/lisa-eadicicco/) and [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) Oct 28, 2015 8:15 PM CUT  School children hold portraits of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in front of a giant picture of Gates during celebrations to mark his 60th birthday inside the school premises in Chennai, India on Oct. 28, 2015. School children hold portraits of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in front of a giant picture of Gates during celebrations to mark his 60th birthday inside the school premises in Chennai, India on Oct. 28, 2015.Reuters by [Lisa Eadicicco](/author/lisa-eadicicco/) and [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) Oct 28, 2015 8:15 PM CUT Bill Gates, philanthropist and cofounder of Microsoft, turned 60 years old on Oct. 28\. Gates is the wealthiest man in the world, and he along with his wife Melinda have put their fortunes towards starting numerous campaigns aimed at making the world a better place. The [Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation](http://www.gatesfoundation.org/ "undefined") runs various programs that seek to improve global health, eliminate poverty, and provide easier access to education among solving other issues impacting the world. In these photos, school children in Chennai, India honored Gates’ birthday by holding portraits of him during a celebration.  Indian schoolchildren hold Bill Gates masks. AFP/Getty Images ### Bill Gates: The Early Years  Bill Gates, about 27, in his Microsoft office in 1982. Philip Amidal  Gates watches his friend and future Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen typing on a teletype terminal at the Lakeside School in Seattle in 1968\. Gates was 13 when he entered the exclusive prep school, which was around the time this photo was taken. Lakeside School/Microsoft  Much of the computer equipment at Lakeside was bought with proceeds from a rummage sale organized by the students' mothers. Gates was drawn to programming the machines and was excused from math classes to pursue his interest. Lakeside School  Gates during Commencement at the Lakeside School in 1973. The Microsoft Archives  In 1977, Gates was arrested by New Mexico police for speeding.  Gates and Paul Allen in Microsoft's offices in 1982\. Started initially in New Mexico, the company moved to Bellevue, Wash., in January 1979. Barry Wong—Seattle Times  The early team at Microsoft paused for a group portrait in 1978\. Gates is at the bottom left. Microsoft/AP  Gates demonstrates the memory power of a CD in 1987. Doug Wilson—Time & Life Pictures/AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4090915/bill-gates-birthday/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4090915/bill-gates-birthday/"},"headline":"Students In India Held A Massive Celebration to Honor Bill Gates On His Birthday","datePublished":"2015-10-28T20:15:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:44:20.937Z","description":"On Bill Gates' 60th birthday, school children in India honored the philanthropist by holding a big celebration.","url":"https://time.com/4090915/bill-gates-birthday/","keywords":["Tech","Bill Gates","Microsoft"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fdef1b53cfe6b19/69886e86bc6cfc72713da1ea/bill-gates-celebration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lisa Eadicicco","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/lisa-eadicicco/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2fdef1b53cfe6b19/69886e86bc6cfc72713da1ea/bill-gates-celebration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"School children hold portraits of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in front of a giant picture of Gates during celebrations to mark his 60th birthday inside the school premises in Chennai, India on Oct. 28, 2015.","caption":"School children hold portraits of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in front of a giant picture of Gates during celebrations to mark his 60th birthday inside the school premises in Chennai, India on Oct. 28, 2015.","creditText":"Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4090915/bill-gates-birthday/","name":"Students In India Held A Massive Celebration to Honor Bill Gates On His Birthday"}}]}] ```