TIME/CNN presents Global Influentials, the top 25 business people worldwide

Illustration for TIME by JOE CIARDIELLO

2. Bill Gates
Microsoft CEO

Bill Gates is worth more than $30 billion, thanks to his 12.3% stake in a resurgent Microsoft, whose Windows operating system dominates the desktop on 90% of the world's PCs. Gates' empire extends to Internet access (MSN), television (MSNBC and a stake in cable giant Comcast), computer games (Xbox) and even philanthropy (the $24 billion Gates Foundation). Gates, 46, was slow to recognize the importance of the Internet. But with his ambitious .NET initiative—and diminished pressure from antitrust regulators—the world's richest man may end up dominating a whole new realm: cyberspace.

CNN Video: Watch a short profile of Bill Gates
Company Web Site: www.microsoft.com

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