Richest man

Chapter 37 The Americas: Bill Gates (1)
——Bill Gates: The American spirit of "the richest man in the world" In the past 100 years, the crown of "the richest man in the world" has been occupied by Americans.From Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller to J. p.Morgan, a name familiar to everyone, shows a period of magnificent economic development history in front of people, and leads you to find the development track of the richest man in the world, trying to understand the inevitable road behind this accident.

Bill Gates, the "big boy" who was born 120 years later than the steel magnate Carnegie, once again ranked first in the list of "Most Admired Business Leaders" selected by the "Financial Times" in 2004. "BusinessWeek" named "The Greatest Innovator of 2004 Years".

Bill Gates, the chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, what are the similarities and differences between him and the richest men in the world more than 100 years ago
After comparing Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, J. p.After the experience of Morgan and Bill Gates, it seems that some "inevitable" trajectories of the world's richest man in the United States can be sorted out--born in poverty, he showed extraordinary business talent when he was a teenager; After middle age, realize the way of wealth and actively do good deeds.

Let us explore the inevitable trajectory of the world's richest man in the United States——

Heroes from ancient times

Bill Gates was born on October 1955, 10 in Seattle, Washington State, Northwestern United States.His father is a lawyer, his mother is a teacher, and there are an older sister and a younger sister in the family.

Gates has loved mathematics and computers since he was a child, and became a well-known "computer fan" in middle school.Paul Allen is his best alumnus, and the two often play a game of three in a row on the computer at Lakeside Middle School.Bill Gates Jr. is very good at playing with the computer, and sometimes he makes a little trick on the program so that there are girls in the front, back, left, and right sides of his seat.

One summer in 1972, Paul, who was three years older than him, brought a copy of Electronics magazine and told Bill that a newly established company called Intel had launched a microprocessor chip called 8008.The two soon got chips and a machine that could analyze traffic monitors in cities, and decided to start a traffic data company.This is Bill Gates' "first work" in entrepreneurship.

In the spring of 1974, when Electronics magazine announced that Intel was introducing the 8008 chip, which was 10 times faster than the 8080 chip, Bill and Paul had decided that the end of those PDP8-style minicomputers was near.Behind the new chip they saw the bright future of what could be called the perfect computer for everyone: personal, adaptable and, most importantly, within personal purchasing power.In a word, Intel's 8080 chip will change the entire industrial structure.

Unlike Bill Gates, who got involved in entrepreneurship because he keenly felt that technological progress would bring bright industrial prospects when he was a teenager, Andrew Carnegie, who is 120 years older than Gates, did so because of the hardships and hard work of life. And stimulate entrepreneurial ambition.

Andrew Carnegie was born on November 1835, 11 in Dunfermline, the ancient capital of Scotland.His father, Will Carnegie, made a living by hand spinning linen plaid, and his mother, Maggie, sewed shoes as a side job.Although the parents are poor, they are upright and always full of positive and enterprising spirit.

Carnegie helped the family from an early age.Since there was no running water, he got up early every morning, picked up a pair of large buckets, and lined up to fetch water from a nearby well.After picking up a few loads of water, I had breakfast and went to school.When I come back at night, I always have to help my mother who is busy sewing shoes to thread the needles, and at the same time, I have to silently recite the poems I learned at school.

When Carnegie was 13 years old, his impoverished parents sold all the looms and furniture in the family and decided to go to the United States with the family, but the travel expenses to the United States were still 20 pounds short.Thanks to the help of a friend of the mother's, who lent them money, they were able to set off.

In order to share the worries of his parents, after arriving in the United States, 13-year-old Carnegie entered a textile factory as a child laborer, with a weekly salary of only $1.Later, he took up slightly more lucrative jobs: burning boilers and soaking yarn bobbins in oil pools.The smell in the oil pool was disgusting, and the hot boiler made him sweat, but Carnegie gritted his teeth and persisted.

The hard life and extreme tempering made Carnegie young and mature, and he set his ambition to work hard early.So, this thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, after a hard day during the day, attends night school at night. The course is double-entry accounting, three times a week.The double-entry accounting knowledge he learned during this period became the magic weapon for him to build a huge steel kingdom and make it invincible.

Here, there is a story I have to mention: One night in the winter of 1849, Carnegie came home from class and learned that his uncle had sent a message that the David Telegraph Company in Pittsburgh needed a messenger to deliver telegrams.He immediately realized that his opportunity had come.

Early the next morning, Carnegie put on brand new clothes and leather shoes, and went to the telegraph company with his father.

He stopped suddenly, and said to his father, "I want to go in for the interview alone, Dad, you can wait for me outside."

It turned out that he was worried that he would appear short when he and his father had a side-by-side interview. At the same time, he was also afraid that his father would speak inappropriately and bump into Mr. David, thus losing this rare opportunity.

So, he went up to the second floor for an interview alone.Mr. David looked at this short, high-nosed Scottish boy, and asked, "Are you familiar with the streets of downtown Pittsburgh?"

Carnegie replied firmly: "I'm not familiar with it, but I promise to be familiar with all the streets of Pittsburgh within a week." He paused, and added: "Although I am small, I can run faster than others. please do not worry."

Mr. David smiled with satisfaction: "The weekly salary is 2.5 dollars, start working from now on!"

In this way, Carnegie got the job and took the first step in life.At this time, he was only 14 years old.

In just one week, Carnegie, wearing a green uniform, fulfilled the promise he made during the interview and became familiar with the streets of Pittsburgh.After two weeks, he knew the suburban routes like the back of his hand.He is small in stature, but has good legs, and soon won unanimous praise from all over the company.A year later, he had been promoted to head of the courier management.

If hard work and diligence are the foundation of Carnegie's future entrepreneurship, then being smart and studious is the first step for Carnegie to move towards the ladder of life.

Every day when he was a messenger in the telegraph company, he arrived at the company an hour earlier. After cleaning the room, he quietly went to the telegraph room to learn how to send telegrams.He cherished this secret learning opportunity very much, persisted day after day, and soon mastered the technology of sending and receiving telegrams.Later he was promoted and became the best telegrapher in the telegraph company.

At that time, Pittsburgh was not only the transportation hub of the United States, but also a material distribution center and an industrial center.As an advanced communication tool, the telegraph played an extremely important role in this city where industrialists gathered.The life of sending telegrams through the streets and ticking every day made Carnegie feel like he had entered a "commercial school".He is familiar with the name and characteristics of each company, and understands the economic relationship and business dealings among various companies.Over time, he has been familiar with this invisible "business encyclopedia", which has benefited him a lot in his future career.Therefore, Carnegie, when looking back on this period, called it "the first step on the ladder of life".

One day, General Manager David patted him on the shoulder and said, "Young man, you work harder and more diligently than others, so I will give you a separate salary increase from this month." He received 13.5 dollars, which was more than last month. $2.25.This is a huge sum of money for a poor boy who is only 15 years old.

When he got home, Carnegie just handed over the $11.25 salary to his mother as usual, and temporarily kept the increased $2.25, because this money was too precious to him.Before going to bed at night, he told his younger brother the secret of the salary increase, and the 7-year-old Tom was also surprised.So, the two brothers excitedly talked about their future careers, looking forward to jointly opening a "Carnegie Brothers Company" in the future, earning a lot of money, giving their mother a shiny carriage, and never letting her The old man sews shoes until midnight like this now.They talked for a long time before falling asleep.

At the dinner table the next day, Carnegie took out 2.25 dollars and handed it to his mother, and asked: "How much is the money we borrowed from others in Dunfermline?" , It’s almost enough to pay back. Where did you get the money from?” When the mother learned about the origin of the money, tears of joy welled up in her eyes, while the father sitting by the side showed a proud look .They realized that their son was promising and would definitely do a great job in the future.

Like Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller was a young man who made aspirations and was the self-made richest man in the world.

John Rockefeller, who was four years younger than Carnegie, was born on July 1839, 7, in a small town named Yangjia on the banks of the Hudson River in New York State, USA.His parents have completely different personalities: his mother is a devout Christian who converts to the Bible in every word and deed. Sociable, self-willed and self-centered.As the eldest son, Rockefeller learned the practical ways of doing business from his father, and learned the advantages of fineness, frugality, keeping promises, and meticulousness from his mother, which had a great impact on his future success.

His father's name was William. He was a lumber merchant and a horse dealer who wandered around. He was also a witch doctor who traveled all over the world.The father went out to do business, and he went there for several months. The education of the children at home was mainly undertaken by the mother.But the father who occasionally returns home also looks forward to his son's success just like his mother. Whenever he has time, he teaches John how to write business letters, how to pay accurately and quickly, and how to keep accounts clearly.

William paid great attention to creating opportunities in the game to inspire John and his younger brother to cultivate their awareness of accident prevention.When John was a child, his father used to make Johnny jump from a high chair into his arms.Once his father didn't pick him up with both arms, and he fell hard to the ground.His father said to him seriously: "Remember, never trust anyone completely. Even the closest person, don't trust him!" This incident left a deep impression on John, so that in the future In the business field, he always kept a calm and alert mind, thus avoiding many mistakes.

When John Rockefeller was 14 years old, he attended Cleveland Central High School.After school, he often hangs out on the pier, watching merchants do business.One day, he met a classmate, and the two chatted while walking.The classmate asked: "John, what do you want to do when you grow up?" The young Rockefeller said without hesitation: "I want to become a person with $10, and I will succeed." In the end, the well-known oil tycoon at home and abroad had a wealth of US$10 billion, which was 1 times his childhood dream!
And John Pierpont Morgan, also at a very young age, showed extraordinary courage and boldness in a coffee business.

Smart Calculation, Quick Attack and Iron Fist Monopoly
Just like the wisdom of Apple smashing Newton, the personal computer broke into Bill Gates' mind, and there is also an external enlightener.This is the "Popular Electronics" magazine in January 1975. The picture of the Altair 1 computer on the cover suddenly inspired the computer dream of Paul Allen and his friend Bill Gates.

The world's first microcomputer marked the beginning of a new era of computing.This small machine based on the 8008 microprocessor is the masterpiece of a big man with a thick back. His name is Ed Roberts. At that time, the MITS company he ran was in trouble and he invented this microcomputer in desperation.Gates, who was still studying at Harvard, saw a business opportunity. He called and said that he would develop the Basic language for Altair, but Roberts was skeptical.As a result, Gates and Allen worked day and night at the Harvard Aken Computer Center for 8 weeks, matching the Basic language for the 8008. No one had ever compiled a Basic program for a microcomputer before. Gates and Allen developed PC software. The new path of the industry has laid the foundation for the standardized production of software.It seems to be Gates' innate talent to attack quickly and seize business opportunities quickly.

There is an undeniable fact here that it was MITS that determined Gates and Allen's status as programmers and enabled them to enter this emerging industry.It was MITS that allowed Microsoft to accumulate the first batch of funds for development. At the same time, it witnessed and participated in the whole process of MITS from design to production, from publicity to sales services, and exercised its market capabilities.

On New Year's Day 1977, shortly after Allen left MITS, Gates officially dropped out.After resolving their relationship with MITS, the two hit it off, ready to fight.

However, the early Gates and Allen could only experience the joy of creation more from groundbreaking work than the rolling wealth.But Gates will wait for the time to come and collect money from everyone.Because, Bill Gates has a nerve excited by wealth in his brain.

Gates was the first programmer to call attention to the problem of illegal copying of software.Later, Gates repeatedly used this trick: let everyone use his software first, and then collect money after they become addicted!
Gates' shrewdness can ensure that Microsoft will become a successful company, but to become the overlord of the software industry and even the entire computer industry in the future, Microsoft has to rely on "divine help".

It was not Gates who first started programming computer software, but his friend and competitor Gerry Kidder.The professor at the Naval Academy played a major role in the development of PCs.One of the greatest programmers and designers of all time, he programmed more for the sake of thoughtful elegance than to make money.He wrote a large and complex computer language such as PL/I for the Intel 8008 chip. He is also the inventor of the interpreted Basic program. The CP/M operating system he developed almost ruined Gates' dream of becoming a prosperous.

(End of this chapter)