Wednesday's big tech antitrust hearing has echoes of Bill Gates' and Microsoft's landmark court battle 22 years ago. Here's why the government scrutinized Gates and how it played out for the company.

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• More than 22 years ago, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates faced off against Congress over issues of antitrust, not unlike tech's biggest CEOs will do on Wednesday.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee questioned Gates, alongside a panel of his industry peers, on Microsoft's dominance in the software market.
• Microsoft's business practices ultimately led the Department of Justice to file suit against the company.
• A court initially ruled that Microsoft should be broken up into two separate companies, which Microsoft appealed. In the end, Microsoft settled with the US government, agreeing to changes its ways.
• But the court case had long-lasting impacts on Gates and Microsoft. It directly contributed to Gates' early retirement, and Gates has said it's the reason Microsoft's smartphone ambitions failed.

More than 22 years ago, Bill Gates was sitting in the exact same position as Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook, and Sundar Pichai: preparing to testify before a congressional committee on matters of antitrust.

In March 1998, Gates was called before Congress to address Microsoft's market power and whether the company was abusing it. Gates appeared alongside a panel of his industry peers and was questioned on whether Microsoft unfairly took advantage its dominant position in the software market to break into other markets.

It's hard not to draw parallels between Gates' testimony and what we can expect to hear on Wednesday, when, for the first time, four of the nation's most high-profile tech CEOs will testify together (albeit virtually). Even Gates appears to be reminded of his own grilling before lawmakers, telling CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin on Tuesday, "It certainly reminds me of when I went in front of Congress. I wish them well."

Here's how Gates' testimony played out, and what the end result of antitrust scrutiny was for Microsoft.