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Intelligent, ruthless, with an uncanny business sense. Such is William Gates. Often considered a technologist, Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, has proven time and time again, his ability to understand technology and business. He, along with business partner and childhood friend, Paul Allen, turned a passionate hobby into a multi-billion dollar empire. Gates, viewed as the richest and most powerful man on earth, and Allen, owner of the Portland Trailblazers basketball team, the software company Asymetrics, Ticketmaster and a large portion of America Online, have nothing to complain about. By combining their passion and understanding for computers, along with Gates’ impeccable ability to apply his poker playing skills with business, they managed to sneak up on the competition. Writer Steven Levy explains it best. “Gates has the obsessive drive of a hacker working on a tough technical dilemma, yet has an uncanny grasp of the marketplace, as well as a firm conviction of what the future will be like and what he should do about it.” In the film, Pirates of Silicon Valley, as well as in reality, IBM had control over majority of the personal computing era during the 1970s.
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