Microsoft chief attempted to take over Yahoo for $44.6 billion in February; attempt to compete with Google on search backfired after 6-month slugfest—featuring nasty Carl Icahn proxy fight—yielded no deal, sluggish stock price. Worse: Yahoo struck ad deal with Google soon after. Gaining some traction in online advertising; ranked first in display ads this June. Sales up 18% to $60 billion in 2007; net profits rose 26%. Entertainment division—videogame console Xbox, music player Zune—finally profitable. Detroit native dropped out of Stanford M.B.A. program to join former Harvard classmate Bill Gates in 1980.