# Bill Gates lost $1.1 billion Friday **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 15, 2000, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101 "2000-04-15T14:19:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2000, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/1 "2000-04-15T14:19:00Z")
Or so says my local paper this morning. It’s based on the stock market’s bloodbath Friday and his 741.7 million shares in Microsoft. Charles Schwab only lost a measly $258.4 million (based on his shares of his investment corporation). And Jeffrey P. Bezos, chairman and CEO of [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), only lost $243.1 million. Can you imagine having enough money to lose more than a billion dollars in a **day**? Incidentally, the same article says Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, _made_ $570 million Friday. Howdy doo dat? * * * “We are here for this – to make mistakes and to correct ourselves, to withstand the blows and to hand them out.” Primo Levi ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2000, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/2 "2000-04-15T15:42:00Z")
I wish I could feel his pain. ---
**Author:** ![Breckinshire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@Breckinshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Breckinshire)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2000, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/3 "2000-04-15T15:47:00Z")
Opus, I will grant your wish. You now owe me 1.1 billion dollars. I will accept real estate, automobiles, slavery, and kidneys. You have 48 hours to say goodbye to your loved ones before reporting to my super secret island headquarters. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2000, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/4 "2000-04-15T16:05:00Z")
$1.1 billion Friday? Thats nothing, last week it was on one day about $12 billion for Gates. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/5 "2000-04-16T05:48:00Z")
:eek: Okay let me qualify that: I wish I had 741.7 million shares in Microsoft so that I could feel his pain. * * * **One percent?** Did anyone check the closets? ---
**Author:** ![chief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@chief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chief)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2000, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/6 "2000-04-15T20:07:00Z")
HA HA! just kidding… but he must be kicking himself right now! * * * Check out my site: [Chief’s Domain](http://qfg.tierranet.com) ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@Carl\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Berry)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2000, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/7 "2000-04-15T23:18:00Z")
## My father worked for a man who was worth $5 million in 1929. When the Stock Market crashed, he lost $1 million & lost his mind! A basket case from then on, even though he still had $4 million! Has anyone seen Bill? Carl ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2000, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/8 "2000-04-15T23:45:00Z")
‘Has anyone seen Bill?’ Yeah, he is on tv every night saying the ‘best is yet to come’ really. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Berry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@Carl\_Berry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Berry)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/9 "2000-04-16T04:47:00Z")
Bill does his commercials live??? ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/10 "2000-04-16T11:29:00Z")
“Lost” money? Ha! It’s not like you can get on your hands and knees in Washington and possibly find BG’s missing $11.1 Billion. * * * Wrong thinking is punished, right thinking is just as swiftly rewarded. You’ll find it an effective combination. ---
**Author:** ![AuMatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@AuMatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuMatar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/11 "2000-04-16T12:46:00Z")
Awww, lets all bow our heads and express our extreme sorrow at billy boy’s loss. … Done. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/12 "2000-04-16T15:34:00Z")
I see Microsoft [msft] at a high of about $120/share from their year chart. Now they are about $74/share. I wonder what monday is going to bring? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2000, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/13 "2000-04-17T05:27:00Z")
## I wonder how much Michael Masterson lost? 😉 –In France I’m considered a genius. ---
**Author:** ![lindsay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3be4f8/32.png) [@lindsay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsay)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2000, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/14 "2000-04-16T19:14:00Z")
The opinion from a couple of ‘tech watchers’ is that Microsoft has already peaked, and there isn’t much to look forward to from them. Still, Gates did okay. He bought this idea from a physician, and mass marketed it to Americans just as well or better than Madonna marketed her music. So what could a few billion loss mean, anyway? * * * lindsay ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2000, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/15 "2000-04-17T00:12:00Z")
I wondered about the too Spoke. He talked about Qualcomm [sp] a lot…hmmmm Silicon Valley [?] is a video out, rated G, pretty cool true story-like thing. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2000, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/16 "2000-04-17T03:21:00Z")
handy, I presume that you’re talking about the movie _The Pirates of Silicon Valley_. ---
**Author:** ![CalifBoomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CalifBoomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalifBoomer)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2000, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/17 "2000-04-17T03:25:00Z")
A billion here, a billion there. Before long you’re talking about _real_ money. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2000, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/18 "2000-04-17T03:32:00Z")
Can you imagine. Bill comes home to his wife. “Oh honey I just lost 11 billion and another 5 billion at poker.” “Oh great how are we supposed to make do with only 30 billion” ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2000, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/19 "2000-04-17T13:47:00Z")
I had a tiff with the wife over this topic. My contention is that Gates lost nothing. You don’t lose or make money in stock until you sell it. Sure, the value of his portfolio is down, but so what? His total liquid assets are pretty much unchanged, unless he decided to go out Saturday and buy Switzerland. Stock value is a polite fiction held between investors. MSFT could zoom up to $1,0000/share today; it wouldn’t affect Gates’ total worth UNLESS HE SELLS SOME SHARES! Of course, my wife’s arguement was that I was being needlessly nitpicky and patronizing. Wife 1, me 0. When will I learn? * * * It’s my duty; my duty as a complete and utter bastard.–Arnold J. Rimmer. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2000, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101/20 "2000-04-17T15:20:00Z")
Guy Propski, you have a point. Its just on paper. Just a paper thing, that is all. But get this, they also pay Gates a salary. lol. I don’t remember the exact amount but it didn’t seem all that much. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-gates-lost-1-1-billion-friday/16101.md?page=2)