Would Bill Gates have become the world’s richest man without Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen? Would Paul Allen have made the billionaires list without Bill Gates?
In countless successful technology start-ups, the story is the same: A close-knit group of founders develops an idea, but eventually one person emerges as the leader and drives the company forward. Even in the best-case scenario, there can be bitterness.
And it always raises the question: How important is the wingman?
Mr. Allen’s new memoir, in which he accuses Mr. Gates of scheming to take shares in Microsoft Corp., is another version of the tale.
The Journal got a look at a draft of the book, which is set to go on sale April 17, and reporters Nick Wingfield and Rob Guth say it has created a rift between the two former Microsoft executives.
“In the book, Mr. Allen also positions himself as the spark of many of Microsoft’s most important ideas, playing down Mr. Gates’s role in some cases. Woven throughout the book is a bitterness Mr. Allen expresses for not receiving more credit for his work throughout his career and more shares in Microsoft,” they write.
Mr. Allen, who left Microsoft in the early 1980s, has a $13 billion fortune, and it might be difficult to see how someone with that much money could be disgruntled. But the grass is always greener on the other side, and $13 billion can always be compared to $56 billion, the amount that Mr. Gates has, according to Fortune. And money aside, Mr. Gates is the one who has the household name and is credited with the development of Microsoft.
Full story: Bill Gates vs. Paul Allen: how important is the wingman?