# Could Bill Gates have the President killed, if he really wanted to? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2007, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167 "2007-11-20T09:18:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![WoodenTaco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/45deac/32.png) [@WoodenTaco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WoodenTaco)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/41 "2007-11-21T01:37:49Z")
[QUOTE=Martin Hyde] I don’t really think so. There are people out there with more resources than Gate who have really good reasons to want Bush dead, and Bush is still alive. [/QUOTE] The thing is, we are watching the folks who want Bush dead to make sure they can’t pull off an assassination attempt. The reason Bill Gates would have a better position to do so is the combination of vast resources and lack of surveillance, since he has no real motive. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/42 "2007-11-21T01:58:41Z")
[QUOTE=bouv] Locating an assassin? Seriously? Go pick up an issue of “Soldier of Fortune” and flip to the classifieds. 99% of the guys advertising in there are just _waiting_ for someone to call them to do something like that. [/QUOTE] How are you going to pick which ones really _are_ some guy who would do a hit for you, and which ones are bait planted by law enforcement agencies to pick up those attempting murder? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/43 "2007-11-21T02:09:20Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] How are you going to pick which ones really _are_ some guy who would do a hit for you, and which ones are bait planted by law enforcement agencies to pick up those attempting murder? [/QUOTE] You know that they are all quality assassins because they have enough money for an advertising budget. Your average druggie with a gun doesn’t have the business acumen to run such a successful operation. You will see the same hitmen advertised in Soldier of Fortune for years at a time so they are clearly making money and staying out of prison. That is a very good sign for the consumer. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/44 "2007-11-21T02:26:36Z")
Every orphan that bill and melinda save from aids is told that one day, the debt will be remembered. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/45 "2007-11-21T02:41:18Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] You know that they are all quality assassins because they have enough money for an advertising budget. Your average druggie with a gun doesn’t have the business acumen to run such a successful operation. You will see the same hitmen advertised in Soldier of Fortune for years at a time so they are clearly making money and staying out of prison. That is a very good sign for the consumer. [/QUOTE] Would the CIA or FBI have the budget to advertise in Soldier of Fortune for years at a time? Check. Would the CIA or FBI be able to stay out of prison? Check. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/46 "2007-11-21T03:18:31Z")
Bill most likly has a huge jet at his disposal. He can hire Muslim computer geeks with the right connections and run checks on them. Even lure them into blackmailable situations if need be. Why not then just fill up the jet with fuel and “arrange” to have it hi jacked coming out of Dulles on its way to Dubai? Next stop White House and the terrorist catch the heat. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/47 "2007-11-21T03:54:29Z")
He’d do it with EULAs. Just replace the clause about the [user becoming Gates’ towel boy](http://www.mevis-research.de/~meyer/MISC/di/a.htm) with one for becoming an assassin. Pretty soon half the country will be obligated to off whoever Gates hates this week… ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/48 "2007-11-21T04:14:37Z")
Knowing Gates the attempt would be 18 months late and Jobs would do it first. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/49 "2007-11-21T05:07:38Z")
[QUOTE=DanBlather] Knowing Gates the attempt would be 18 months late and Jobs would do it first. [/QUOTE] 😛 > [@shagnasty](#): > > asked who wanted to be the mome back (“Come on back, come on back”) for the motorcade. I still have no idea what you’re talking about. Is a _mome back_ anything like a henfur? Did they want you to help the motorcade park neatly in the garage? Act as a decoy? Shout “come on back” with a silly New Orleans accent? ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/50 "2007-11-21T06:25:46Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Ahmadenijad likewise may not have as much “personal wealth” as Bill Gates, but the resources of Iran are far greater than that of any individual person, and Ahmadenijad has a lot of the decision making power in Iran. If a big payout is all it takes to get someone to kill the President I honestly think that Iran, pre-war Iraq, North Korea, and especially the U.S.S.R during the Cold War would have offed at least one of our Presidents. Well, sure, but Ahmadinejad (remember that old grammar school rule? “I before E, except after Huss”) doesn’t have anything to gain from having Bush dead. His people would go, “Awesome! What next?”\* and then he’d have to come up with something else to get them to rally behind him for. For the same reason, I believe the current administration has no incentive to actually find Osama Bin Laden. \*As would ours. Some of us, anyway. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > All presidents since LBJ have had assassination attempts that made the news :dubious: News to me. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/51 "2007-11-21T13:37:11Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Well, sure, but Ahmadinejad (remember that old grammar school rule? “I before E, except after Huss”) doesn’t have anything to gain from having Bush dead. His people would go, “Awesome! What next?”\* and then he’d have to come up with something else to get them to rally behind him for. [/QUOTE] Actually, if he rubs out Bush, he gets Dick Cheney – pissed off, armed with more than a bird gun, and ready to shoot more than just his hunting buddy. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/52 "2007-11-21T13:46:46Z")
[QUOTE=jtgain] I would DEFY anyone to be able to kill the President, but I’m sure a crazy and determined person could at least put himself in a position to do it. Getting away with it? Absolutely no way in ten hells. [/QUOTE] I’m even doubtful about the first part, actually. I also got to see some of the SS precautions (around Dan Quayle, in this case) some years ago, and a lot of things that didn’t make a lick of sense to me in the moment I realized later were aimed at just such a person. The SS has a solid understanding of the psychology of someone who would want to take down the prez, and they have some very interesting tricks waiting for such a person. I don’t want to get into any details, because I don’t know how many of these particular techniques are still in use; but the general idea is to get that person to ‘jump the gun’, as it were. This kind of person has poor impulse control, and won’t have the patience to pick his precise moment. If you can get him to think the target’s vulnerable before it actually is, he’ll reveal his intentions before he has a chance to succeed. John Hinckley may have been the last ‘lone nut’ would-be presidential assassin we’ll ever see. I’m betting there have been several if not dozens of such people in the years since, but were quietly led off by undercover agents fifteen minutes or more before the president and the press turned up at the nut’s chosen location for violence. If they weren’t identified & instutionalized months in advance, that is … ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/53 "2007-11-21T14:58:28Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] :dubious: News to me. [/QUOTE] Oh yea of little faith, Just because you have the TV on a different channel than the nightly news doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. Publicized presidential assassination attempts have happened against every president in recent memory except LBJ. The skill level and luck varied. George W. Bush faced an assassination attempt on May 10, 2005 when a grenade was thrown at his podium in the Republic of Georgia. The grenade failed to detonate however. Those are just the publisised assassination attempts. There are more that were thwarted by the Secret Service before they could be put into action. The Secret Service likes to keep attempts quiet to avoid a frenzy or copycat attempts. > **[List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Presidential_assassination_attempts)** > > Assassination attempts and plots on the president of the United States have been numerous, ranging from the early 19th century to the present day. This article lists assassinations and assassination attempts on incumbent and former presidents and presidents-elect, but not on those who had not yet been elected president. Four sitting U.S. presidents have been killed: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963). Ronald Reagan (1981) is th... ---
**Author:** ![yelimS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/54ee81/32.png) [@yelimS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yelimS)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/54 "2007-11-21T16:21:54Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] George W. Bush faced an assassination attempt on May 10, 2005 when a grenade was thrown at his podium in the Republic of Georgia. [/QUOTE] Untouchable indeed! If it’s possible to throw grenades at someone, then it can’t be too hard to get them with a rifle, can it? ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/55 "2007-11-21T16:40:52Z")
[QUOTE=Will Repair] His greatest resource is not his wealth but the fact that almost all computers use his software without disclosing it’s source code. For instance, he could plant subliminal messages into Solitaire to “kill the president.” Or he could have Outlook notify him if it found an assassin. Or he could do what he does now and have Windows keep him abreast of all governmental and business secrets. 😉 [/QUOTE] You appear to be preparing to assassinate the president. Would you like help? - Get help locating a killer for hire. - Get help planning a cover-up - Just waste the bastard without help X Don’t show me this tip again. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167/56 "2007-11-21T19:02:34Z")
[QUOTE=Princhester] > [@Shagnasty](#): > > You know that they are all quality assassins because they have enough money for an advertising budget. Your average druggie with a gun doesn’t have the business acumen to run such a successful operation. You will see the same hitmen advertised in Soldier of Fortune for years at a time so they are clearly making money and staying out of prison. That is a very good sign for the consumer. Would the CIA or FBI have the budget to advertise in Soldier of Fortune for years at a time? Check. Would the CIA or FBI be able to stay out of prison? Check. [/QUOTE] Psst… **Prin** … I think it was a joke 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-bill-gates-have-the-president-killed-if-he-really-wanted-to/427167.md?page=2)