Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
[QUOTE=FillJackson]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.[/QUOTE]
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.
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
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.
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
[QUOTE=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.[/QUOTE]
do you have to be a ruthless asshole like him to be that successful?
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
[QUOTE=~primetime~]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:
[/QUOTE]
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?
[QUOTE=~primetime~]Gates to me is software programmer FIRST...businessman second. And he co-founded M-Soft with Paul Allen.[/QUOTE]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
[url]https://books.google.com/books?id=VDAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA19&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q&f=true[/url]
First off, he was an excellent computer programmer, [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake_sorting#History"]one of the best[/URL], 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.
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
[QUOTE=FillJackson]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 [URL="http://forwardthinking.pcmag.com/software/286148-the-rise-of-dos-how-microsoft-got-the-ibm-pc-os-contract"]couldn't license QDOS.[/URL]
I count those as two giant strokes of luck in terms of timing. But Gates got the maximum out of them to his credit.[/QUOTE]
yes, any incredibly successful person had lucky circumstances to help them succeed. have you read the book outliers?
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
[QUOTE=FillJackson]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
[url]https://books.google.com/books?id=VDAEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA19&pg=PA22#v=onepage&q&f=true[/url]
First off, he was an excellent computer programmer, [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pancake_sorting#History"]one of the best[/URL], 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.[/QUOTE]
Okay Berkshire Hathaway is an actual 'business'...with 331,000 employees (much more than Ford)
the company owns lots of businesses...
[I]The company wholly owns GEICO, BNSF, Lubrizol, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds, FlightSafety International, and NetJets[/I]
[I]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,[/I]
[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway[/url]
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
[QUOTE=~primetime~]Okay Berkshire Hathaway is an actual 'business'...with 331,000 employees (much more than Ford)
the company owns lots of businesses...
[I]The company wholly owns GEICO, BNSF, Lubrizol, Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom, Helzberg Diamonds, FlightSafety International, and NetJets[/I]
[I]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,[/I]
[url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Hathaway[/url][/QUOTE]
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.
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
Buffett wasn't born with a silver spoon up his ass.
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
Who cares? They both have like $60+ billion. They're both by far on the winning end of things.
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
[QUOTE=Heilige]do you have to be a ruthless asshole like him to be that successful?[/QUOTE]
90% of the time....
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
[QUOTE=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.[/QUOTE]
is there any book on this or something? i dont feel like article surfing to get to this type of info.
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
[QUOTE=FillJackson]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.[/QUOTE]
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.
Re: Bill Gates or Warren Buffett?
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 ...