[DuncanWaring]

Did Bill Gates acquire his wealth by luck or chance?

Unfortunately for the otherwise-generally-brilliant Dr. Williams, in this case, there is an element of "Yes" in the answer to this question.

Bill Gates had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time with a father who could loan him $50,000 one weekend, putting Bill in the position of being a sole-source supplier to an industrial monolith with a built-in enormous market for the budding Microsoft.

[Rebel_Ace]

...Did Bill Gates acquire his wealth by luck or chance? Unfortunately for the otherwise-generally-brilliant Dr. Williams, in this case, there is an element of "Yes" in the answer to this question.

Bill Gates had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time with a father who could loan him $50,000 one weekend, putting Bill in the position of being a sole-source supplier to an industrial monolith with a built-in enormous market for the budding Microsoft..."

If it were so OBVIOUS that gambling on the purchase of some obscure operating system code would net you BILLIONS, then LOTS of folks would have been bidding for the purchase of what would become MS-DOS.

Luck to be at the right place at the right time? Sure, each and every one of us is presented with opportunities and chances to improve our lot in life. However, you have to be able to SEE and RECOGNIZE the opportunity, and be willing to ACT and TAKE RISK.

[mom of young patriots]

“Unfortunately for the otherwise-generally-brilliant Dr. Williams, in this case, there is an element of “Yes” in the answer to this question.
Bill Gates had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time with a father who could loan him $50,000 one weekend, putting Bill in the position of being a sole-source supplier to an industrial monolith with a built-in enormous market for the budding Microsoft.”

It’s called angel investing . Many companies get started that way and business owner wannabes have to solicit the funds from investors. I have a friend who is doing just that right now to start his small business and he is still working 16-18 hr days, 7 days a week. Unless the recipient is a magician, he won’t be able to turn 50,000 into a billion without some truly hard work and sacrifice. Say what you will about Bill Gates and Microsoft, but it didn’t just happen because his daddy handed him some cash.

[TXnMA]

OK, what about Jobs & Woz, then...?

"Privileged Garage"...?