Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, has openly discussed the challenges he faced in fully appreciating the success of his own company, even after reaching billionaire status. Reflecting on this period, Gates acknowledged that it wasn’t until the late 1990s that reality truly set in for him. “I wouldn’t say that I felt comfortable that we were successful until about 1998 or so,” Gates recalled, adding, “I thought I was one mistake away from death until then.”
The late Steve Jobs, Apple’s co-founder, had some intriguing opinions about Gates’ leadership style and Microsoft’s product launches. During a conversation with The Independent, Gates shared:
“Steve Jobs once said that he wished I’d take acid because then maybe I would have had more taste in my design of my products.”
Gates met Jobs’ quip with humor, retorting, “Look, I got the wrong batch.”
In retrospect, Gates and Jobs shared a remarkably nuanced friendship. Gates not only played a role in developing software for some of Apple’s early computers, but in a show of solidarity, stepped in to invest up to $150 million in Apple in 1997, aiding the company through its financial struggles.
Steve Jobs was celebrated for his flawless design and marketing prowess, pioneering iconic products like the iPhone and iMac. Though Jobs sometimes critiqued Gates for lacking a refined aesthetic in his products, Gates made up for it with his technical acumen.
In Gates’ own words: “I got the coding batch, and this guy got the marketing-design batch, so good for him. Because his talents and mine—other than being kind of an energetic leader, and pushing the limits—they didn’t overlap much.”
Meanwhile, Microsoft was making significant strides by investing in and developing its cloud computing services, a venture that has greatly contributed to its impressive market valuation exceeding $3 trillion. Alongside this, Microsoft was busy delivering its Office suite, including essential programs like Word and Excel, which have garnered billions of users globally. Despite this massive reach, Jobs seemingly remained unimpressed by Gates’ product launches.
Gates also shared a candid moment with The Independent, revealing that he had experimented with drugs in his youth before Microsoft took shape. “I thought maybe I would look cool, and some girl would think that was interesting. It didn’t succeed, so I gave it up,” Gates humorously recounted.
