Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates admitted having difficulty reveling in the software giant’s success, even after unlocking billionaire status. Gates indicated reality dawned on him in the late ’90s. “I wouldn’t say that I felt comfortable that we were successful until about 1998 or so,” added Gates. “I thought I was one mistake away from death until then.”
Apple co-founder, the late Steve Jobs, had some interesting insights on Gates’ leadership and product launches at Microsoft (via Fortune). While speaking to The Independent, Bill Gates revealed:
“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 jokingly replied to Jobs, indicating, “Look, I got the wrong batch.”
In hindsight, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Apple co-founder shared a complicated friendship. Not only did Gates help develop software for Apple’s early computers, he helped save the iPhone maker from bankruptcy in 1997 by investing up to $150 billion in the company.
Steve Jobs was well-known for his impeccable design and marketing skills. He spearheaded the launch of flagship devices like the iPhone, iMac, and more—an area where he felt Bill Gates seemingly fell short, but he narrowed the gap with his technical prowess and expertise.
According to Bill Gates:
“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.”
On the other hand, Microsoft was knee-deep in investing and building its cloud computing services, which has heavily contributed to the company’s success and over $3 trillion market valuation.
The tech giant was also focused on shipping its Microsoft Office suite, which featured programs like Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. While the products continue to amass billions of users worldwide to date, Bill Gates’ product launches didn’t seem to tickle Steve Jobs’ fancy.
Interestingly, Bill Gates disclosed to The Independent that he’d used drugs in the past before co-founding Microsoft. “I thought maybe I would look cool, and some girl would think that was interesting. It didn’t succeed, so I gave it up,” concluded Gates.
