Thinking about Ed Roberts, who died last week, reminded me of the best story he ever told me about Bill Gates and Paul Allen, explaining why Gates was always richer than Allen and why that differential may not have been fair. Here’s the short version:
There was a time when Paul Allen, not Bill Gates, was the boss at Microsoft. When it came time to visit Albuquerque to demonstrate that first BASIC interpreter to the folks at MiTS, Allen made the trip, not Gates. It was Paul Allen, not Gates, who was later offered the job as head of software for MiTS — a job I have in the past characterized as the single most expensive position in the history of employment because accepting that job meant that Allen got only 36 percent of Microsoft’s founder shares, compared to Bill Gates’ 64 percent.
There’s an irony in that stock differential, and it is that Gates argued he was working 100 percent for Microsoft while Allen was working for both Microsoft and MiTS, Microsoft’s only customer, and therefore deserved less stock because of his divided duties. The irony is that shortly after they divided the shares, Gates went to MiTS founder Ed Roberts asking for a job, too, which Roberts gave him, paying $10 per hour. A more aggressive Paul Allen would have demanded a share adjustment at that point, but the real Paul Allen let it slide.
“I made out okay, ” he told me when I asked about it, years later.
And while I have you on the line, if you are into Open Source software and live in the southeast or will be passing-through, please meet me at POSSCON 2010, the Palmetto Open Source Software Conference April 15-17 in Columbia, SC. I’ll be the keynote speaker on April 15th and promise to shock and awe you with my amazing insight and bad grammar.
RESPECT.
Alas, if it was the southeast of England, I’d be there! But I fear that’s little bit too far away…
My NC-issued passport is on a watch list at the SC border…something to do with remarks I made about how Bernanke seems to still be working at “South of the Border.” (The road ahead is always wide open for those who dare.)
:^)
The line up of speakers for POSSCOM is impressive!
IIRC, Gates was in his first year of Harvard at the time when Allen made the trek to Albuquerque. So I don’t think he was available to go. Also, I think it was Allen who was the contact for Roberts and told him that they had a BASIC language ready to go.
I thought Bill screwed Paul when it was discovered that he had Hodgkins disease? Wasn’t it on Triumph of the Nerds or Pirates of Silicon Valley where they showed Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer plotting to cut Paul out of the picture when he got sick? I know I’m basing my claim on a fictional drama but it seems to make sense.
Two comments —
Founder’s stock of Microsoft probably wasn’t worth very much back when it was handed out. Who could have known what the future would bring?
Assertive people tend to get ahead faster than normal people do. That’s just human nature.
Your boss “JOBS” must have asked you to publish this in response to Bill’s remembrance published for ED and all the good comments he’s getting.. 🙂
You need to get shaped!
Good catch.
Southeast of NZ, I’d be there too.
Hey Cringley, I’m curious, is that your wife on the banner at the top of your blog? If so, she’s pretty hot. (well, I guess she’s pretty hot either way, but you know what I mean)
You must be new here. Explore the site (try clicking on “About Bob”); read the pages (look for “Who’s the pretty girl with Cringely?”). Click on appropriate links. Report back on your findings.
Pretty though she may be, she looks like a plastic doll. And it’s a little disconcerting that Cringely himself is … well, don’t know if he’s photoshopped, but a photo embedded in a recent post, he looks older. I know a youthful appearance is considered a necessity today, but it bugs me all the same.
The woman in the banner is not “Bob’s” wife, rather a young hottie model/geek who really know’s her tech. “Bob’s” wife is (in his own words) “young and beautiful,” but she’s not *that* young.
I’ve sometimes wondered what his wife thinks of his prominently displaying another young and beautiful woman at the top of his blog, who seems to serve no function other than attracting the gaze (and occasional questions) of male readers.
What *is* she doing there, “Bob”? She’s never posted anything. She was interviewed once for NerdTV (from the PBS days). Does she code the site behind the scenes? Is she paying some sort of fee to have you link to her other sites? Or did you pay her just to be a pretty face?
Jon
Actually she posted a lot in one column “The 94% solution” last month under the name “anina.net”.
Clarification: Anina has commented but never published/posted an original article on this site. (That’s what I meant.)
Jon
Bob’s wife was featured in the Christmas card column from last December (the one holding the record for the most comments).
36% of what Gates forged ahead with may be worth more than 50% of the outcome from their shared plan.
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