Bill Gates

Richard Marens parvus at u.washington.edu
Sun May 31 10:30:50 PDT 1998


Mr. Gates, and that other business "genius", Warren Buffett (living exemplar of the "second time is farce" thesis) just gave a talk here at the UW. When asked about their role models, Gates did not mention some obscure computational pioneer. Instead he talked about his parents, and how after a hard day at the law firm Bogle and Gates, Dad would discuss business strategy and contract formation at the dinner table.

In many respects, the American tycoon that Gates most closely resembles is Alfred Sloan, guiding hand behind the success of GM. Their historic roles are similar: to tame technology in a manner that would actually end up stengthening the grip of the status quo. Gates looks a great deal like Sloan, not only in his successful use of marketing and strong-arm contracting tactics as a substitute for technological innovation, but in their sophisticated use of the stock market to reward themselves and their associates. And just as GM deliberately tolerated Ford and Chrysler, Gates seems to understand he needs to allow Apple and Netscape to survive.



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list