People like to say all the time that Gates was a 'dropout', nevermind that he came from a wealthy family that was probably in the top 2% of income-earners for the Seattle area at the time. He went to high school at the Lakeshore school, the most expensive private school in the Seattle metro area (one year tuition currently around $34,000 USD, it was similarly expensive relative to inflation and cost of living back in the 70s). Gates started with a huge advantage over the middle class. Both of his parents were lawyers specializing in corporate law.