Bill Sr. relaxing after a Palm Springs vacation with his son ANN SUMMA FOR TIME Gates on his wife, Melinda. Audio courtesy of CNN: Larry King Live, August 21, 1995

The Prom "Trey (Gates) didn't have a lot of confidence in social settings. I remember him fretting for two weeks before asking a girl to the prom, then getting turned down." Bill Gates Sr. Kindred Spirit Gates met Ann Winblad, the software entrepreneur and venture capitalist, in 1984 at a Ben Rosen/Esther Dyson computer conference. They started going on "virtual dates" by driving to the same movie at the same time in different cities and discussing it on their cell phones. They broke up in 1987, partly because Winblad, five years older, was more ready for marriage. But they remain close friends.

Microsoft Mate When Gates decided to propose to Melinda French in 1993, he secretly diverted a chartered plane they were taking home from Palm Springs one Sunday night to land in Omaha. Warren Buffett met them there, arranged to have a jewelry store open, and helped them pick a ring. Gates married French on New Year's Day 1994 in Hawaii. Their first child, Jennifer, was born last April.

Bill and Melinda Gates at the fifth game of the NBA finals, June, 1996 JUD JEFFERSON-SIPA