Siddhartha was born to a rich royal family in modern day Nepal, he had hundreds of slaves and was given everything he wanted.
As a child, Siddhartha was given gold and toys and was not allowed to see any suffering as his father had been told that if he saw suffering, he would become a monk and not king.
A few years later, Siddhartha went on a tour of the city, but he was shocked to see people suffering, there were begging children, sick people and the bodies of those who had died. For the first time in his life, Siddhartha saw unhappiness.
Then, Siddhartha saw a holy man praying under a tree in the forest, his serene expression appealed to Siddhartha much more than the suffering he had seen earlier.
So that night, Siddhartha sacrificed everything he had, his wife, his son and his wealth to go and find enlightenment and the cause of all suffering and he did this as an ascetic.
After meditating under a Bodhi tree for 6 years. Siddhartha achieved enlightenment and came to be known as the 'Buddha' , which means the enlightened one.