Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has spoken openly about how he grappled with embracing the software giant’s triumphs, even after becoming a billionaire. Gates expressed that it truly hit him in the late ’90s. He mentioned, “I wouldn’t say I felt comfortable that we were successful until about 1998 or so. Until then, I felt like I was always one mistake away from disaster.”
The late Steve Jobs, who co-founded Apple, had some intriguing thoughts on Gates’ leadership style and his product launches at Microsoft, as noted by Fortune. When chatting with The Independent, Bill Gates shared that Jobs once commented, “Steve Jobs once told me he wished I’d try acid because then maybe I would have developed a better taste for product design.”
In a light-hearted exchange, Gates quipped back to Jobs, saying, “Hey, I got the wrong batch.”
Reflecting on their relationship, it’s clear that Gates and Jobs shared a complex friendship. Gates not only developed software for Apple’s early machines but also played a crucial role in helping to bail out the iPhone creator from potential bankruptcy back in 1997 by investing a whopping $150 billion.
Steve Jobs was revered for his exceptional design and marketing acumen, spearheading the launch of remarkable devices such as the iPhone and iMac. He viewed Gates as lagging in this arena, though Gates did narrow the gap with his technical skills and deep industry knowledge.
Gates himself noted, “I got the coding batch, while this guy was all about marketing and design. Good for him. Apart from being dynamic leaders pushing boundaries, our talents rarely intersected.”
Meanwhile, Microsoft was deeply involved in enhancing and expanding its cloud computing services, an effort that significantly boosted the company’s success, helping it climb past a $3 trillion market valuation.
Additionally, Microsoft devoted considerable energy to shipping its Office suite, complete with popular programs like Word and Excel, which have amassed billions of users worldwide. However, these launches didn’t quite catch Steve Jobs’ enthusiasm.
Interestingly, Gates also revealed to The Independent that he had experimented with drugs before co-founding Microsoft. In his words, “I thought maybe it would make me seem cool and attract some attention from girls. It didn’t go as expected, so I gave it up,” Gates concluded with a chuckle.
