BBC News 4-9-99 The world's richest person, Bill Gates, has become the first $100bn man due to the surge in Wall Street stock prices. As the Nasdaq share index set new records this week, Mr Gates saw his 20% share in Microsoft swell by $1bn, pushing his personal wealth into 12 figures. With each of his one billion-plus shares in the Seattle-based software giant worth $93 (about #56), the 43-year-old's fortune could give most medium-sized national economies a run for their money. He also has shareholdings in several other companies including $9bn invested in satellite ventures. The stage is now set for Mr Gates to become the world's first trillionaire. The Daily Telegraph reports that having made about $4,566,000 for every hour of the past year, and with his wealth growing at the 61% compound annual rate it has enjoyed so far, he will hit the $1,000,000,000,000 mark in 2004. The paper also states that his current wealth exceeds the economic output of all but the 18 wealthiest nations. In fact, if his wealth continues to snowball, his fortune will overtake Britain's gross national product in 2005. The latest news of Mr Gates's almost unfathomable personal wealth comes a few weeks after the public was granted an unprecedented insight into his financial affairs. In an interview with Fortune Magazine, his fund manager Michael Larson said that except, of course, for Microsoft, this doyen of the computer industry generally gave Internet and technology shares a wide berth. Mr Larson, who has managed the Gates finances since 1993, said the man who started off building computers in his garage was looking to cable TV companies and biotechnology firms for good returns in the future. He has also channelled $9bn into a venture to surround the world with a network of 288 low-level satellites, which is due to launch around 2003. However, these projects excepted, Mr Gates and Mr Larson have taken a rather unadventurous approach to investing the fortune. "The point wasn't for Bill to become richer than the Sultan of Brunei," said Mr Larson. Apart from Microsoft, most of Mr Gates's assets are held in relatively secure investments such as government and corporate bonds. Last year he invested $250m in Cliveden hotels group which owns the former Astor family home and was the scene of the of the 1960s Profumo scandal.

-- what (a@sickening.nerd), April 10, 1999

Answers

This jackass made $4.5 million for every hour of the past year. Where is this money coming from? (can you say pyramid scheme?) As Infomagic said:

the lack of an early stock market crash is one of the main reasons I am more pessimistic -- the higher it goes, the farther it will crash, and the closer it happens to Y2K the worse _both_ will be.

-- a (a@a.a), April 10, 1999.

This fall when millions of people take their money out of the banks and attempt to close their stockmarket positions, the Dow Jones will drop below 3000 and Bill Gates will lose most of his fortune.

-- smitty (smitty@sandiego.com), April 10, 1999.

Think of all the money that that nerd is making from people having to upgrade their non-Y2k-compliant products. Of course, his upgrades are so full of bugs, that they need "service patches" (bug fixes) and are still not compliant. Windows NT is the perfect example.

-- Incredulous (ytt000@aol.com), April 10, 1999.

One would think that Norman Bates (Bill Gates) could take a few million of those billions and fix some of the recalculation problems in Excel and improve security in Office Products like Word. (Ever heard of Melissa virus?) Problems with Macros in Word, for example, are nothing new. Problems at least since Word 6. But Bill Fakes' outfit has ignored the problems and shined the users on.

There ARE alternatives to Microsuck products. Ever heard of WordPerfect? Ever heard of Netscape?

-- vbProg (vbProg@MicrosoftAndIntelSuck.com), April 10, 1999.

I think you are all envious of Mr. Gates wealth. He made his money honestly. http://www.moraldefense.com/microsoft/

-- Ken Stauffer (kjs@stauffercom.com), April 10, 1999.

Is he the world's richest? I thought it was the Sultan of Brunei. Either way it's disgusting.

-- @ (@@@.@), April 10, 1999.

When you have that much money, life can be one giant vacation! Imagine, never to have to hit the freeway at 7 AM to go to work!

-- smitty (smitty@sandiego.com), April 10, 1999.

My son says Bill Gates is a high school drop out.(6th grade rumor) Does anyone know if this is true?

-- Justin Case (justin case@Aloha.com), April 10, 1999.

The PeeCee world deserves Bill Gates and Y2K Windows, just desserts for not supporting the superior Macintosh.

-- JIT (togetthe@last.laugh), April 10, 1999.

Gates dropped out of Harvard, not high school.

Scott

-- Scott Johnson (scojo@yahoo.com), April 10, 1999.

The amount of Socialistic envy and disgust displayed here is staggering.

I see the American mind has been thoroughly corrupted, spun and brainwashed into class-envy of the likes only Stalin could have hoped to achieve.

We are doomed.

-- INVAR (gundark@sw.net), April 11, 1999.

I share INVAR's amusement on this one. We all want to be successful in life, and yet we resent those who actually are.

I wouldn't trade places with Gates for anything.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), April 11, 1999.

By-the-by:

Who gives a shit how he gets his money?

Americans didn't care who their president got his rocks off on, or who he sells national security secrets and technology to.

So who gives a damn where, how and why some geek repackages a system that MILLIONS of folks BUY - making him rich beyond compare?

What a bunch of sorry-ass good-for-nothing stupid shits.

Petty envy. You all make me sick.

-- INVAR (gundark@sw.net), April 11, 1999.

Gates is an asshole, INVAR, like you. You should be more concerned with his "plan for America" than the nebulous NWO you so incessantly rant about.

-- a (a@a.a), April 11, 1999.

a.-

You typify the logically bereft, emotionally-driven wacko Socialist class-envy, tobacco-nazi, Liberal asswipe I don't take shit from no more.

Gates 'aint president you moron. He's got Clinton's Gestapo Justice Dept. on his ass. And if you're so worried about Gates' "plan", buy a Mac, get a calculator, use an abacus - BUT YOU AREN'T FORCED AT GUNPOINT TO USE MICROSOFT PRODUCTS. You do so by your own choice.

Arguing with twits like you is pointless.

Calling you what you are is all that is left.

You wanna fight? Good. Let's get it over with.

I'm sick of you stupid goose-stepping morons.

-- INVAR (gundark@sw.net), April 11, 1999.

INVAR, You're sick of us all? Why don't you go away then. We're sick of you, too, you miserable f**k.

-- Bye bye (good@riddance.comm), April 11, 1999.

Now now Invar and a, a little decorum please :)

Something to think about...

"Bill Gates will lose most of his fortune..."

That may well be. (I doubt it, somehow, he's a shrewd guy...)

His new "house" on Puke It Sound (Seattle) is more akin to Fort Knox or Colditz than the regular Playboy Mansion-type abode of your average billionaire.

Plans of the "lair"/"retreat"/"Castle Keep" - call it what you will but I like the last one - are top secret - several builders and teams were used to build it, each having no knowledge of what the rest were up to (Much like Office '98 ha ha ha), with a top gun crew of Stormtr.. uh, security guards on constant patrold, rumours of underground nuke-proof well-stocked living quarters, well, you get the picture...

Wonder if old Bill knows something we don't ;)

I think we should be told.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), April 11, 1999.

Damn it INVAR you rotten son of a bitch, why is it that every once in a while I find myself agreeing with your position? You evil rat bastard foul mouthed prick! Maybe, just maybe, if you could learn to speak like someone who has at least a pint of manners you could open up a few minds that were closed to your position.

Then again maybe not, but worth a try anyhow.

As to Bill Gates, he is a smart hard-nosed bidnessman. INVAR (God help me) is right, buy a Mac if you hate his riches that much.

-- Uncle Deedah (oncebitten@twiceshy.com), April 11, 1999.

For once I have to agree with Invar - don't usually - and Flint - I often agree with you - there seems to be a great deal of the "green eyed virus" on this particular thread.

Scott is right - he dropped out of Harvard, not high school. He started MSFT in a garage of a rented house with Paul Allen.

Andy - His house is on Lake Washington - not Puget Sound. IF he does have such an underground get-away as you say, perhaps he does know something - perhaps he is a preparer (GI) like some of the rest of us. How can you fault him for taking a wise and prudent action to the best of his ability - like the rest of us? As for the guards etc. If you had two children and were as rich as he, wouldn't you take prudent steps to protect them? I would.

Bill didn't cause Y2K. MSFT wasn't even on the market until 1987 and everyone then had the opportunity to buy in. He splits the stock regularly so you can afford it and lots of people from janitors on up have bought in with very little money who are now millionaires. Why are you so jealous of a person who used his brain and marketing skills to achieve the "American dream"? By the way, according to the Seattle papers, less than 3% of his money is invested in tech stocks - most of it is in medical related stocks and government bonds/funds. Maybe he needs to develop a bio company to develop a green eye anti- virus.

-- Valkyrie (anon@please.net), April 11, 1999.

Hmmm...it seems that Phillip Greenspun, creator of this forum's database server, is also a Gates detractor:

http://photo.net/philg/humor/bill-gates.html

For the rest of you that are in love with him and his penchant for cornering the market, I will go easy on you because it is clear that you are ignorant of just what a monopolist and a nusiance this man really is.

-- a (a@a.a), April 11, 1999.

I don't particularly like Bill Gates, But ya gotta remember that before Gates and IBM got together, the personal computer scene was a disaster area.

-- dave (wootendave@hotmail.com), April 11, 1999.

My point, Valyrie, which has zoomed over the top of your head like an exocet, is that young Bill is gonna do OK, he's gonna be just FINE in his lair if things go tits-up.

The point is he is telling everyone that will listen THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM - he has said this several times referring to y2k.

Criminally irresponsible considering the media clout he has.

If HE took it seriously, the world would follow suit.

Get it now? No jealousy here, just amazed at his stupidity. Typical programmer really... :)

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), April 11, 1999.