How to Become As Rich As Bill Gates • Hacker News Board

Re: How to Become As Rich As Bill Gates

#31

Post by HeyLaughingBoy » Thu, Apr 09, 2009, 4:23 PM UTC

TomOfTTB wrote: post #7

frisco wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and Yes, he's not a great hacker (he's smart and knows enough about technology but the couple Gen 1 Microsoft employees I've met say he can't code worth a darn) What? I'm pretty sure Gates is the quintessential technical founder. He wrote the original Altair BASIC implementation himself in something like a week, and snuck into University of Washington's computer labs in the middle of the night in high school. I don…

Being able to create something quick that's workable doesn't really indicate that you're a good programmer. As far as never hearing anything about it, I based the statement on a couple personal accounts. But "Barbarians Led By Bill Gates: Microsoft From The Inside" has an account of at least one programmer calling Gates code terrible. The programmer in question co-wrote the book so you have to take it with a grain of…

Being able to create something quick that's workable doesn't really indicate that you're a good programmer.

It doesn't?? Then what does? Quick and usable in the business world is practically the holy grail of programming!!!

Re: How to Become As Rich As Bill Gates

#32

Post by galactus » Thu, Apr 09, 2009, 4:56 PM UTC

pg wrote: post #15

The first 3 steps seem to be optional. Larry and Sergey didn't have rich ancestors or get their ideas by buying them, and it doesn't seem to have harmed them.

What is interesting is how "optional" it actually is. Being very tall is also "optional" if you want to become an NBA player (Nate Robinson is 5'9"), having working legs is "optional" if you want to climb the everest, etc.

Re: How to Become As Rich As Bill Gates

#33

Post by ajju » Thu, Apr 09, 2009, 5:14 PM UTC

anamax wrote: post #27

pg wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Neither had family connections to Bechtolsheim that I know of. Where did you hear that?

Stanford CS "family". Without knowing the story (but knowing some of the players), I'd guess that David Cheriton is also involved.

Stanford CS is a "family" you don't have to be born into. You can get into Stanford by being good.

Re: How to Become As Rich As Bill Gates

#34

Post by ZeroGravitas » Fri, Apr 10, 2009, 2:17 PM UTC

mattmaroon wrote: post #4

Anyone with Bill's off-the-charts intelligence, business savvy, and entrepreneurial drive would end up very wealthy even if they were born in the ghetto. Maybe not Bill Gates wealthy, but more than enough that they'd have no interest in reading this sort of thing.

Your assumption here is that Bill Gates was born with "off-the-charts intelligence, business savvy and entrepreneurial drive" and nothing about his upbringing affected this in anyway. I think even the strongest genetic determinist would have to concede that's not true, which throws doubt on him even having these qualities if he'd been born and raised elsewhere (ghetto, communist state, refugee camp etc.)