Quote:
Originally posted by HeebyJeeby
Couple points...
1. Bill Gates was hired by IBM to write DOS.
2. IBM backed out at the last minute.
3. Paul Allen saw the benefits of DOS and decided to back Gates financially to start Microsoft.
4. Paul Allen once owned more of Microsoft than Gates.
5. Paul Allen sold many of his shares early on to invest the money elsewhere.
6. Gates sits back as the figurehead of Microsoft.
7. Paul Allen spends his money on things he likes. Football stadium, basketball stadium, bailing out friend's businesses, etc.
Paul Allen is a philanthropist. Bill Gates is just lucky.
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This is a pretty uninformed post.
-- Bill Gates didn't "write" DOS, he and Paul Allen licensed it from someone else.
-- IBM didn't "back out" -- their pc's ran on DOS.
-- Allen didn't "back Gates financially," the two of them started as tech guys who created a version of BASIC that ran on the Altair 8080 which was the first microcomputer.
-- I've never heard anyone refer to Bill Gates as a "figurehead." The general consensus is he's brilliant. You don't become the richest man in the world from being "lucky."