With the exception of a few hours last month when he was briefly eclipsed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has maintained a firm hold on the title of the world’s richest individual.

His road to riches began when he was a tech-obsessed 13-year-old student at Lakeside School in Seattle, Washington. As Gates recalled in a 2005 speech, the school’s “mothers club came up with the money to buy a teletype that connected over the phone lines with a GE time-sharing computer.”

That machine effectively changed his life. He spent as much time as he could learning about computers, hacking and coding. He and a school friend named Paul Allen bonded over their love of technology. They would later co-found Microsoft.

Here’s a comprehensive infographic created by Funders and Founders designer Anna Vital that explores Gates’ incredibly journey:

Infographic source: fundersandfounders.com