We like idolising CEO’s of tech companies as the messiahs who made the world a better place, information about them is well publicized most of which is only positive things.
It is almost impossible to find information that can contradict these tech moguls as being messiahs we all perceive them to be, however there are somethings that they have done in the past that certainly paints them in a different brush. It is a paint which they wish wasn’t permanent but nonetheless it is something they have done.
Below is a list of my favorite tech moguls, not in any order:
- Bill Gates
- Steve Jobs
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Elon Musk
All these individuals have one thing in common, they are known to be a bit heartless just to put it mildly. They have at some point in life done some bad things that leaves much to be desired, so what are some of those bad things you may ask?
Bill Gates
Bill Gates tried to steal all the stocks and stock options from Paul Allen as Paul was sick with cancer and not thought that he would survive. He forced Apple to sell him Apple basic for Macintosh for $1 or he would stop making software for the machine, only to kill the project. There are many stories about Microsoft about to buy a company, does check out the company, get access to their source code and then cancel the deal only to release identical apps later. Buying up competing companies just to close them down and more. Bill Gates was the original monopoly mogul, something that Zuckerberg is currently excelling at.
Steve Jobs
In the 1970’s, Steve Jobs was working for Atari, designing the game Breakout. Overwhelmed with work with a deadline quickly approaching, he approached Steve Wozniak for help in finishing his project within the next four days. In exchange for his help, Jobs offered Woz half of what he was earning, which he said was $700.
For four days, Jobs and Wozniak worked day and night without sleep. When they were done, they were sick with mono and exhausted, but they finished the project before the deadline. Wozniak got his $350 cut as promised, and the two went on with their lives.
The only thing was, that Jobs wasn’t being honest. It took Wozniak a decade to learn that Jobs was actually paid $5,000, not $700. Upon hearing this revelation, Wozniak reportedly broke down in tears.
Steve Jobs also did a phone prank to an Apple fan boy who applied for the Apple CEO position and told him that he had been chosen, later to tell him if he showed up at Cupertino that the cops would arrest him. Steve Jobs refused child support for his daughter Lisa. But he was 20 years old by then, not excusing what he did though. He later made good and Lisa choose to live with him instead of her mother. Steve did many things wrong as a 20 something. But The Original Macintosh (folklore.org) has a lot of stories that show him as a nice guy also, playing pranks with the team, breaking into his own office as he locked his keys inside. Putting a pirate flag on a building. All of the original mac team talked fondly about Jobs
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark pretty much stole facebook from his friends, plain and simple, got rid of people when they were no longer needed by him. Has been ordered again and again to pay huge sums to people after settling in court. He has done some shady deals, and is trying to monopolize the whole tech industry.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk had a secretary who worked relentlessly for him, one day she asked for a raise, he told her to take a few days off, I will see if I can live without you. Then a few days later he called her and told her she was fired.
Summary
They are complete arseholes, but they are also the people who will end up in history books. They have all made technology the way they are today. The world is a much better place because they are/were here. You could even argue that because they were arseholes, and did not care if they walked over other people, that’s why we have all the nice things we have now.