Microsoft tell all book
By Asha

Last year, American media published a number of articles which detailed the bitter infighting among the men who co-founded Facebook. Each side was releasing private conversations and messenger chats to embarrass their rivals within the Facebook founding team.  One chat showed how a young Mark Zuckerberg, still at college, called some users of his social networking site ‘suckers’.  Mark has since apologized and described it as a youthful mistake. Even though tens of millions of dollars have been paid out to other founders, Facebook is still fighting a number of legal battles.

Microsoft was co-founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.  Even though both had started as equal partners, when the company became a success, Bill asked for a 64 percent share which he got.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has written a book detailing all that happened in the first few years of Microsoft.  Vanity Fair has a detailed article based on the book, of which the following is a small excerpt.  Bill Gates had tried to bypass Paul Allen to hire Steve Ballmer to help run Microsoft

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One evening in late December 1982, I heard Bill and Steve speaking heatedly in Bill’s office and paused outside to listen in. It was easy to get the gist of the conversation. They were bemoaning my recent lack of production and discussing how they might dilute my Microsoft equity by issuing options to themselves and other shareholders. It was clear that they’d been thinking about this for some time.

Unable to stand it any longer, I burst in on them and shouted, “This is unbelievable! It shows your true character, once and for all.” I was speaking to both of them, but staring straight at Bill. Caught red-handed, they were struck dumb. Before they could respond, I turned on my heel and left.

I replayed their dialogue in my mind while driving home, and it felt more and more heinous to me. I helped start the company and was still an active member of management, though limited by my illness, and now my partner and my colleague were scheming to rip me off. It was mercenary opportunism, plain and simple. That evening, a chastened Steve Ballmer called my house and asked my sister Jody if he could come over. “Look, Paul,” he said after we sat down together, “I’m really sorry about what happened today. We were just letting off steam. We’re trying to get so much stuff done, and we just wish you could contribute even more. But that stock thing isn’t fair. I wouldn’t have anything to do with it, and I’m sure Bill wouldn’t, either.”
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Bill sent Paul a six page hand written apology. But the wounds never healed. Read the rest at Vanity Fair.  If you want more,  buy the book.