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ThrowawayR2
[delayed]
paid_dot_expert
Good lesson to fact-check even the things we "know" when writing.
joe_the_user
Gates also came from a wealthy and well-connected family. His mother's connections allowed Microsoft to get their original contract with IBM.

"The Market decided..." stuff is completely ridiculous in these cases. A few individuals have risen by pure competence without education or privilege to the highest levels of science and industry but this claim such a compelling myth that far more have people spread the myth about themselves without it being true.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates

segh
Come on, Bill Gates is not the only kid whose mother had connections. You can't credit his entire success to this single fact.
0conclusive-dem
you can't attribute all of it, but you can attribute most of it.
thewileyone
Microsoft would not have exploded with success if they had not gotten the DOS contract from IBM.
Wolfenstein98k
Says who?

They made great products, fit the market over decades, and we're ruthless.

It seems more likely that Gates couldn't fail, than that if one contract went another way, he must have failed.

spit2wind
Gate's dad was also a lawyer. Compare Gate's behavior working with contracts against kids of the same age, say, those who played in band and signed a record deal.