Bill Gates reveals he worked 80-hour weeks coding software while fearing Microsoft’s downfall

Bill Gates revealed he worked 80-hour weeks at Microsoft for years, fearing failure even after becoming a billionaire.

Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates has shared that he used to work 80 hours a week, writing code for his company, even after accumulating immense wealth. Speaking to CNBC Make It, the 69-year-old tech mogul admitted that he did not feel truly successful until more than a decade after becoming a billionaire.

Bill Gates admits working 80-hour weeks at Microsoft for years without feeling secure.(AP)

Success didn’t feel certain until 1998

Gates, who co-founded Microsoft in 1975, said he only felt comfortable about the company's position in 1998, 11 years after taking it public. By that time, he had already become the youngest billionaire in history, according to Forbes.

"I wouldn’t say that I felt comfortable that we were successful until about 1998 or so," Gates told CNBC. Reflecting on that period, he added, "That’s the first time I look back and say, ‘Okay, we are in a pretty good position here, and I understand why my competitors are so jealous that they think they need the Justice Department to help them out.’"

His comment referred to the antitrust lawsuits Microsoft faced in the late 1990s, as rivals and the US government accused the company of becoming a monopoly.

80-hour work weeks and fear of failure

In his new memoir, Source Code, Gates revealed that he regularly worked 80-hour weeks coding software and constantly feared that even a small mistake could cost Microsoft its place as a leader in the personal computer revolution.

During that time, Microsoft was the world’s most valuable public company, worth over $250 billion. Gates himself was the richest person in the world, with a net worth of $58 billion, according to Forbes.

"Not until the late '90s did I feel like, ‘Wow, we can even make a few mistakes and still be okay,’" he told CNBC. "I thought I was one mistake away from death until then. That was just my mentality."

A legacy of success

Today, Microsoft has grown into a $3 trillion company, and Gates’ net worth has soared to an estimated $165 billion, according to Bloomberg.

While he has stepped away from day-to-day operations at Microsoft, Gates remains deeply involved in philanthropy, focusing on global health, climate change, and education through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.