Gates’s closest boyhood friend and the Microsoft cofounder, Paul Allen, described Gates in his 2011 book (Idea Man: A Memoir) as a sarcastic bully who in 1982 schemed to oust him and steal his share of their company. Back at work following a bout with cancer, an anemic Allen, depleted by radiation and chemotherapy, overheard Gates conniving with Microsoft’s new manager, Steve Ballmer, to dilute Allen’s stake. Allen recalled bursting in and shouting: “This is unbelievable! It shows your true character, once and for all.”26 Declining Gates’s $5-a-share buyout offer, Allen left Microsoft with his
...more
