Some of that magic...

Where better for Bill Gates (1955-) to make magic than the Hawaiian Island of Lanai? Known for stunning beauty, the isolated island paradise is 18 miles long and 13 miles wide.

It was the first day of 1994. The island had two paved roads and about 3,000 residents. The sun was setting in glorious colors of orange and gold and tradewinds were gently blowing.

On a dramatic bluff overlooking the lapis-colored Hulopoe Bay, Bill Gates, wearing a white dinner jacket and black trousers, and Melinda French, dressed in traditional white gown, exchanged wedding vows. About 130 seated guests witnessed the 15-minute, $1-million ceremony. Magic.

Friends say the marriage has made Gates a happier person. "I have a much more balanced life," he told Newsweek in 1999. "I think I'm wiser about a lot of things."

William Gates III celebrates his birthday today. He is one of the richest men in the world.

More than a brilliant wizard, the youngest self-made billionaire in history has revolutionized philanthropy. In 1999, Gates gave $17 billion outright to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to reduce inequities and improve lives around the world. At the time, the gift was the largest ever to a charitable organization.

"Some of the worst human tragedies happening in the world today go on because we don’t really see them. We rarely make eye contact with people who are suffering—so we act sometimes as if the people don’t exist and the suffering isn’t happening," he said in a 2005 speech.

His Foundation is "dedicated to fighting hunger, improving education in America's high schools, developing vaccines against malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS." Gates has said that before he's done, he'll give away all his money.

Sounds like... magic!

The easiest way to feel good is to do good.