Bill Gates: How his 1999 predictions shaped our world today

Bill Gates is not only the founder and former president of Microsoft and a global business icon but also a visionary. A quarter of a century ago, he presented 15 forecasts about the future. Interestingly, every one of them has come true.

The predictions Bill Gates shared back then have come to fruition, prompting some to call him the "new Nostradamus." As the website ladbible.com reminds us, those predictions of the founder of Microsoft can be found in his book "Business @ the Speed of Thought" from 1999.

In the publication, Gates predicted the emergence of price comparison websites that "allow people to view prices across multiple websites, making it easy to find the cheapest product for all industries."

Another accurate prediction was the widespread access to mobile phones. Gates foresaw that it would be possible to "check messages, book flights, get information from financial markets, and do many other things on these devices."

Widespread access to the Internet allows us to shop, send money to friends, and check our bank balance while traveling—as Gates predicted. He also foresaw giving medical advice over the Internet, which is becoming a common practice.

That's not all. Gates predicted that everyone would have "a device that checks email or notifications and presents necessary information. When you go to the store, you can tell it which recipes you want to prepare, and it will generate a list of ingredients you need to pick up." Sound familiar?

In his 1999 book, Bill Gates predicted that in the future, we would be able to use home monitoring systems to view what is happening in real time. And while it may not be a universally used solution, there is no doubt that Gates was right this time, too.

As early as 1999, Gates predicted that to stay in constant contact with family or friends, we wouldn't have to travel to them, as we could connect through "a private website for friends and family, where chatting and planning events" would be common.

Gates' accurate predictions also included personalized ads, which, knowing our interests or plans, would adjust the displayed offers and advertisements. The programmer predicted the dominance of advertising in our lives, foreseeing that future ads would contain links for viewers to search for them online, scan QR codes, or follow the brand on social media.

Bill Gates stated a quarter of a century ago that sports fans would be able to discuss live what's happening in matches and other sports events while they are happening. He also predicted the emergence of virtual discussion forums that would allow us to discuss issues most important to us with friends and neighbors. He added that "online communities will not depend on location, but rather on interests."

He also predicted the possibility of remote work and the creation of tools that would enable it. "Project managers who want to gather a team will be able to go online, describe the project, and get recommendations for available people who would meet their requirements," he wrote in his book. He also foresaw remote recruitment.