# When you steal 9 million dollars from Bill Gates what do you spend it on? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 13, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432 "2002-12-13T04:35:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/1 "2002-12-13T04:35:43Z")
[The story - “$9 million theft from Microsoft paid for lavish life, prosecutors say”](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/99595_software12.shtml) > [@](#): > > A director for one of Microsoft’s high-profile .NET projects was arrested yesterday on federal charges that he stole and sold more than $9 million in software from the company to buy luxury cars, jewelry and a 51-foot yacht. > > Prosecutors say Feussner stole $9 million worth of software. > Daniel Feussner, 32, of Sammamish is accused of wire, mail and computer fraud for ordering expensive Microsoft software by saying that he needed it for his project. Prosecutors say he sold the software and used the proceeds to finance his lavish lifestyle. > > Microsoft Corp. has fired him. [The goodies from alleged crooks website](http://bavaria.da.ru/) > [@](#): > > I live/work/cruise in the Seattle area but I am originated from Munich, Germany. Since 1996 I work in the computer sector and don’t give more info out on this. Make up your own story. Before I made the decision to make computer stuff my profession, I was sure that I will become a Rock Star and/or motorcycle mechanic. Maybe I’ll do this later. You figured that I like big boy’s toys by looking at some of my pictures. > I just can’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![Skerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Skerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skerri)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/2 "2002-12-13T04:42:49Z")
Man, if I had $9 million that I stole from **Microsoft** , I wouldn’t be living the “good life”. I’d pay off my parents’ bills, invest in a small, well-built house, and find a relatively easy job. I’d find some shady investor to hide the rest, and live off the proceeds for the rest of my life. It would probably help if I knew someone who was “in the family”. Hell, if I’m stealing that much $ from Microsoft, I don’t think I would be scared of a little mafia tie-in. Bill Gates is scary enough. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/3 "2002-12-13T05:30:52Z")
Well, I’d probably first go out and buy a top of the line Mac G4, and a Titanium Powerbook. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/4 "2002-12-13T05:59:38Z")
I think y’all are totally missing the point here. First of all, Bill’s net worth according to [http://philip.greenspun.com/WealthClock](http://philip.greenspun.com/WealthClock) is in the neighborhood of $61 Billion. The alleged thief stole ~$9 Million. This represents approximately .015% of Bill net worth. OK, let’s assume a reasonably prosperous normal fellow with a net worth of $100,000. Let’s say a thief stole .015 of that amount. Hmmm… what would that be… 15% would be 15,000 1.5% would be 1,500 .15% would be 150 .015% would be 15. How hard would you pursue someone who pilfered a measly .015% of your net worth? If you had $100K in the bank, how hard would you go after some dude who took you for 15 bucks? Bill Gates is very, very greeedy. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/5 "2002-12-13T06:19:32Z")
Buy house. Buy booze. Kill liver. ---
**Author:** ![DreadCthulhu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/6 "2002-12-13T07:27:05Z")
I would buy a whole bunch of X-Boxes. Then put Linux on them 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/7 "2002-12-13T08:47:15Z")
He didn’t steal it from Bill, he stole it from Microsoft… the two aren’t one and the same. BTW, how dumb must you be to build a website showing off stolen property? ---
**Author:** ![Daowajan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@Daowajan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daowajan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/8 "2002-12-13T10:09:39Z")
I’d pay off every Doper’s tuition and mortgages. Say guys… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/9 "2002-12-13T10:50:42Z")
With something like 20,000 dopers, and probably 1/3 of that regular posters, I think you’d be in trouble. 9 Mil wouldn’t cover it. I would invest in offshore businesses, and then move to a friendly, non-extriditing country. I hear Cuba can be quite lovely. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/10 "2002-12-13T15:15:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Frankd6 \* > How hard would you pursue someone who pilfered a measly .015% of your net worth? If you had $100K in the bank, how hard would you go after some dude who took you for 15 bucks? > > Bill Gates is very, very greeedy. Greedy? The guy basically **stole company property**. He got underlings to buy a ton of company product at in-house prices and then **fenced** it! I don’t care how rich Gates is, if he tolerated someone doing that stuff I’d think he was out of his mind. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/11 "2002-12-13T15:23:27Z")
Lawyers. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/12 "2002-12-13T15:34:10Z")
**Ferret Herder** , well-put. Whether someone empties my bank account or just takes a quarter out of my desk drawer, they’ve taken something that isn’t theirs. It’s stealing. We’re not talking about a starving man taking a loaf of bread, either. Criminy, just because a man is rich, it doesn’t make it less wrong to steal from him or his company. What kind of rationalization is that? ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/13 "2002-12-13T15:36:45Z")
“Greedy” to go after some rat bastard who STOLE from the company to further his own ends? You gotta be kidding me. So do you think most companies should take this line? My university has a budget that probably runs to a billion. So they should ignore it if I steal a computer from the workplace? Because it’s so “measly” given the overall size of the organization? Does it make them stingy or greedy to want to punish me? ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/14 "2002-12-13T15:38:13Z")
Frankd6, are you saying that Bill Gates, if it were his money, should look the other way, just because it was such a small percentage of his money? I may not be a big fan of Microsoft, but Gates does donate a lot of money to charity. 9 million would be better served elsewhere, me thinks. But as stated, this wasn’t his money. He stole from Microsoft. what surprises me is how ‘generic’ the house is for someone who had a ferrari and such. I expected to see a house like one of the rap stars have on Mtv’s Cribs. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/15 "2002-12-13T15:52:45Z")
I’d buy pie 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/16 "2002-12-13T16:48:49Z")
[Awakening] Jeepers, I said what???!!! I guess I was a little bit, um, well, shall we say, “lit” last night. Of course I know the difference between Microsoft and Bill Gates. Of course it isn’t ok for anyone to steal, any amount. I was just struck by what would be an enormous sum to most of us is miniscule to Bill. I still believe he’s very very greedy. And I’d buy a shrubbery. Or two sheds. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/17 "2002-12-13T17:06:26Z")
I’d buy a modest but very nice home for me, another for my parents, and maybe one for my sister if she’ll take it. Then I’d open a large bookstore, not affiliated with any of the big chains, and probably lose money on it. Maybe I’d even live there, instead of getting a house. I’d probably make it a cyber-cafe as well. I’d always have the coolest electronic toys, like state-of-art PCs with the latest graphics cards, the latest internet connected PDA. ---
**Author:** ![GoldenGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8edcca/32.png) [@GoldenGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoldenGael)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/18 "2002-12-13T21:20:35Z")
Wouldn’t Microsoft have to prove to the authorities that the software stolen from it was actually _worth something_ before this sap could be prosecuted? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2002, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/19 "2002-12-13T21:25:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tapioca Dextrin \* > \*\*I’d buy pie 😃 \*\* Steal Microsoft. Come back. Bring Pie. ---
**Author:** ![Rockford](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac8455/32.png) [@Rockford](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rockford)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2002, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432/20 "2002-12-14T00:23:55Z")
Mmmmm pie. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-you-steal-9-million-dollars-from-bill-gates-what-do-you-spend-it-on/142432.md?page=2)