Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?

[Heilige]

Who do you think is the better businessman and has greater business acumen?

[~primetime~]

probably Buffett

[Kvnzhangyay]

Gates

Not to say Buffet is bad, but he invested heavily and entered the market right in the midst of an extended bull market

[nathanjizzle]

what kind of stupid question is this. Gates built his business from a college dorm. :roll:

[~primetime~]

Buffett started with nothing as well...

Buffett has donated over $20B to the Gates Foundation, and billions to other charities as well...and still has a net worth of $66B

Gates is a great businessman but really I view him as more of computer geek than businessman.

[FillJackson]

Gates is a great businessman but really I view him as more of computer geek than businessman.

Buffet's an investor. I don't know that he knows how to run a corporation that builds things, though he might.

His talent seems to be recognizing good sound management principals in others and then putting his money with them, but that's not really like being a CEO of a consumer or business to business company. Buffet is obviously a much, much better investor than Gates, but I think it's a different skill set. Would Buffett be better at running any of the companies that Berkshire Hathaway owns than the people who run them? I'm not sure.

Gates actually ran a company and if he was just a computer geek, Microsoft never would have become Microsoft.
He outsmarted IBM, Lotus, Apple and others for quite some time. Gates saw the dollar signs clearer than virtually anyone else at the dawn of the personal computer age. And was ruthless about it. If I mention Dan Bricklin or Bob Frankston or Mitch Kapor virtually no one would know who they are. Gates also presided over a company undergoing absolutely tremendous growth which is not an easy thing. Even Steve Jobs brought the guy from Pepsi in for a while.

Andy Grove vs Bill Gates would an interesting comparison.

[~primetime~]

Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

[FillJackson]

Buffett is the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
I know that.

But it's a holding company and he basically buys companies that are already doing well and keeps their management in place. Looking for proven managers is one of his skills, but that is different from building a company.

The bold part below is what I was getting at. I don't know if he would be a good CEO of a company that actually produced goods or services.


A holding company is a company that owns other companies' outstanding stock. The term usually refers to a company that does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies to form a corporate group. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow the ownership and control of a number of different companies.

Ironically he said buying Berkshire Hathaway was one of his worst trades. It used to be a Textile Firm. He said he should have just used the money to get into insurance companies which is what he ended up doing with Berkshire Hathaway.

[nathanjizzle]

Buffett started with nothing as well...

Buffett has donated over $20B to the Gates Foundation, and billions to other charities as well...and still has a net worth of $66B

Gates is a great businessman but really I view him as more of computer geek than businessman.

investing is being a gambler. building a billion dollar business from a dorm is being a stone cold raw business person.

[FillJackson]

investing is being a gambler. building a billion dollar business from a dorm is being a stone cold raw business person.
Gates also got lucky in terms of timing.

What happens if the MITS Altair 8800 is only invented 5 years later? He might have stayed in college.

What happens if IBM knew how to write software? Or if IBM was able to get the guy whose software they wanted to sign the non-disclosure agreement? Or if Microsoft couldn't license QDOS. (http://forwardthinking.pcmag.com/software/286148-the-rise-of-dos-how-microsoft-got-the-ibm-pc-os-contract)

I count those as two giant strokes of luck in terms of timing. But Gates got the maximum out of them to his credit.

[fiddy]

Buffer not doubt


investing is being a gambler. building a billion dollar business from a dorm is being a stone cold raw business person.
:roll:

[bluechox2]

rockchilds ftw

[Akrazotile]

Theres no right or wrong answer. A lot of it depends how you interpret the question.

[oarabbus]

Bill Gates by a fair margin. Buffett is #2 though no doubt.

[Sarcastic]

Gates' "Open Letter To Hobbyists" changed the "business" more than anything that Buffett ever did.

[~primetime~]

I know that.

But it's a holding company and he basically buys companies that are already doing well and keeps their management in place. Looking for proven managers is one of his skills, but that is different from building a company.

The bold part below is what I was getting at. I don't know if he would be a good CEO of a company that actually produced goods or services.



Ironically he said buying Berkshire Hathaway was one of his worst trades. It used to be a Textile Firm. He said he should have just used the money to get into insurance companies which is what he ended up doing with Berkshire Hathaway.

You're pointing out that Buffett made his fortune without a good or service.

To me that makes him come off even more business savy :confusedshrug:


He is a multi-billionaire because he knows every other business so well...and how to invest in those businesses and profit greatly.

Gates to me is software programmer FIRST...businessman second. And he co-founded M-Soft with Paul Allen.

[DCL]

bill gates was like the mothafking emperor of the software industry.

he was known as a major asshole businessman, and that's why he's made so much money. he had all the power, and he made everyone bow down. he'd punish anyone who tried to challenge him. he was heavily criticized and he probably hated the reputation though, and that's probably why he wanted to change and become a more likable philanthropist instead.

[Heilige]

bill gates was like the mothafking emperor of the software industry.

he was known as a major asshole businessman, and that's why he's made so much money. he had all the power, and he made everyone bow down. he'd punish anyone who tried to challenge him. he was heavily criticized and he probably hated the reputation though, and that's probably why he wanted to change and become a more likable philanthropist instead.

do you have to be a ruthless asshole like him to be that successful?

[FillJackson]

You're pointing out that Buffett made his fortune without a good or service.

To me that makes him come off even more business savy :confusedshrug:

Like I said, I think this is a different skill. He knows how to spot and measure the people who are doing to it to find solid people. It doesn't mean he would be good at the doing himself. Buffett is great as the head of a financial company, would that mean he would be great as the head of Ford?


Gates to me is software programmer FIRST...businessman second. And he co-founded M-Soft with Paul Allen.My point on Gates was of all the programmers around at the time, he was the most business like. And Allen was a programmer too and even though Gates was younger, Gates wound up as the head of the company.

Even in the early days he was identified as the guy
https://books.google.com/books?id=VDAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA19&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q&f=true

First off, he was an excellent computer programmer, one of the best (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake_sorting#History), but as the head of MS, he was much more than just a programmer, he was a product manager and brand manager and a leader of other managers. Building a completely new product is much, much more than just programming and Microsoft did it again and again. Building a successful company with many different teams isn't easy either.

Building some of the first successful computer software requires lots of people and deadlines, the likes of which Buffett has never faced.

[nathanjizzle]

Gates also got lucky in terms of timing.

What happens if the MITS Altair 8800 is only invented 5 years later? He might have stayed in college.

What happens if IBM knew how to write software? Or if IBM was able to get the guy whose software they wanted to sign the non-disclosure agreement? Or if Microsoft couldn't license QDOS. (http://forwardthinking.pcmag.com/software/286148-the-rise-of-dos-how-microsoft-got-the-ibm-pc-os-contract)

I count those as two giant strokes of luck in terms of timing. But Gates got the maximum out of them to his credit.

yes, any incredibly successful person had lucky circumstances to help them succeed. have you read the book outliers?

[~primetime~]

Like I said, I think this is a different skill. He knows how to spot and measure the people who are doing to it to find solid people. It doesn't mean he would be good at the doing himself. Buffett is great as the head of a financial company, would that mean he would be great as the head of Ford?

My point on Gates was of all the programmers around at the time, he was the most business like. And Allen was a programmer too and even though Gates was younger, Gates wound up as the head of the company.

Even in the early days he was identified as the guy
https://books.google.com/books?id=VDAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA19&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q&f=true

First off, he was an excellent computer programmer, one of the best (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake_sorting#History), but as the head of MS, he was much more than just a programmer, he was a product manager and brand manager and a leader of other managers. Building a completely new product is much, much more than just programming and Microsoft did it again and again. Building a successful company with many different teams isn't easy either.

Building some of the first successful computer software requires lots of people and deadlines, the likes of which Buffett has never faced.


Okay Berkshire Hathaway is an actual 'business'...with 331,000 employees (much more than Ford)

the company owns lots of businesses...


The company wholly owns GEICO, BNSF, Lubrizol, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds, FlightSafety International, and NetJets

The company is known for its control and leadership by Warren Buffett, who is the company's Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer,

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

[riseagainst]

Definitely Gates.

[FillJackson]

Okay Berkshire Hathaway is an actual 'business'...with 331,000 employees (much more than Ford)

the company owns lots of businesses...


The company wholly owns GEICO, BNSF, Lubrizol, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds, FlightSafety International, and NetJets

The company is known for its control and leadership by Warren Buffett, who is the company's Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer,

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

Yes. It's a holding company. It literally holds other companies. That's what I'm talking about looking for good managers. Buffett is pretty hands off. He doesn't run NetJets or Dairy Queen.

[bigkingsfan]

Buffett wasn't born with a silver spoon up his ass.

[NumberSix]

Who cares? They both have like $60+ billion. They're both by far on the winning end of things.

[Rocketswin2013]

do you have to be a ruthless asshole like him to be that successful?
90% of the time....

[Rocketswin2013]

bill gates was like the mothafking emperor of the software industry.

he was known as a major asshole businessman, and that's why he's made so much money. he had all the power, and he made everyone bow down. he'd punish anyone who tried to challenge him. he was heavily criticized and he probably hated the reputation though, and that's probably why he wanted to change and become a more likable philanthropist instead.
is there any book on this or something? i dont feel like article surfing to get to this type of info.

[~primetime~]

Yes. It's a holding company. It literally holds other companies. That's what I'm talking about looking for good managers. Buffett is pretty hands off. He doesn't run NetJets or Dairy Queen.
He isn't hands off when dealing with Berkshire Hathaway and it's 331,000 employees. (double the amount of employees M-Soft has)

He has to deal with deadlines and all the same shit any other CEO of a large company does. Just because they are a holding company doesn't mean there aren't huge business decisions to be made. I mean he is is the business of buying businesses.

[Jasper]

Heard some pretty weird stories of both of them.
Including them being in a super society running the world.

I will use Herb Kohl , ex-owner of the Bucks.
As a multi-millionaire , he had no business becoming a Senator.
What it appeared throughout his Senate career , was that he just wanted to help people.

These elitist type wealthy people , we just have to assume are in it to help people and man kind.

I knew someone that worked on Gates home up in the cascades.... he was very articulate over every detail ie : pricky
Yet this guy spends millions on vaccinations for people in other countries he has never met.

Gates and Buffett, how can you pick one over the other unless you actually knew them ...