How Bill Gates Rips Off Babies

Stealing from babies is easy and low. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates makes himself feel powerful while negligently ripping off babies.

I am a capitalist. I defend entrepreneurs. However, I think young people and their parents should know that Gates is a sham entrepreneur. Gates openly uses his wealth and influence to push policies that will make entrepreneurial success unachievable for babies (future generations of Americans).

Gates is more dangerous to the free markets than President Obama. Why? Because everyone knows that Obama is a socialist who lacks business experience. However, when a billionaire capitalist like Gates advocates socialist policies, Americans will believe those policies are “pro-business,” “entrepreneurial,” and “fiscally responsible.”

Gates told CNNMoney anchor Poppy Harlow at the World Economic Forum: “It’s absolutely the case that taxes will have to go up to close the government deficit and, ah, I certainly think the rich should pay a larger share of that increase as we ask everyone, ah, to make some sacrifices.”

Let’s compare Gates’ approach to entrepreneurship with that of the late Steve Jobs and the company he founded, namely Apple. I think it will be clear that Gates is hurting future generations of Americans despite his public philanthropic efforts.

A sham entrepreneur is a short-term thinker. He uses philanthropy to push socialist policies that will boost his immediate self-esteem and influence while damaging the long-term outlook for entrepreneurship.

Gates partners with Warren Buffett to urge billionaires to take a public “Giving Pledge” to donate at least half of their wealth to charity. Unfortunately, this appears to be a way for Gates to get public recognition while sending the message that charity must be broadcasted. More important, it is counteractive for Gates to encourage voluntary charity and coerced charity (via higher taxes) simultaneously.

Gates is pompous about his philanthropy and he under-appreciates entrepreneurial passion. Gates told Jobs’ biographer, Walter Isaacson: “Here I am, merely saving the world from malaria and that sort of thing, and Steve is still coming up with amazing new products. Maybe I should have stayed in that game.”

Today, Gates is the non-executive chairman of Microsoft (he handed the CEO reigns over to Steve Ballmer). I get the sense that Gates enjoyed competition and making money more than ensuring Microsoft lasted for future generations.

Jobs told Isaacson: “Bill is basically unimaginative and has never invented anything, which is why I think he’s more comfortable now in philanthropy than technology. … Bill likes to portray himself as a man of the product, but he’s really not. He’s a businessperson. Winning business was more important than making great products. … Even when they [Microsoft] saw the Mac, they couldn’t copy it well. … I hate it when people call themselves ‘entrepreneurs’ when what they’re really trying to do is launch a startup and then sell or go public, so they can cash in and move on. They’re unwilling to do the work it takes to build a real company … You build a company that will still stand for something a generation or two from now. That’s what Walt Disney did, and Hewlett Packard, and the people who built Intel. They created a company to last, not just to make money. That’s what I want Apple to be.”

Overall, Gates pushes for higher taxes as a way to solve U.S. and global budgetary problems. He takes credit for “saving the world” when a big part of what he does is ask the government to tell people how to spend their own money.

I think that the best way a company can “help” the world is by being profitable and enduring. Apple helps the world primarily by creating and selling extraordinary products and secondarily via traditional philanthropy. For example:

The affordability of iPhones and iPads “democratizes” technology and information. Steve Jobs wanted to make technology a tool for freedom by making it affordable to most Americans; by making Apple profitable, he was able to fulfill this goal. •

The iPad is an intuitive device that is a blessing to mothers and fathers everywhere. Very young children who have never seen or used computers can instinctively use it. iPads support educational games that, when used judiciously, help teach and engage children. And, iPads playing white noise have been known to soothe cranky children into falling asleep. •

Apple creates or supports 514,000 jobs in America and an additional 23,000 jobs globally. •

As the most valuable company in the world, Apple creates profits for its shareholders and bolsters the U.S. economy. •

Apple pays its legal share of taxes and nothing more; Apple will not bail out the U.S. government’s wasteful spending. Apple is the biggest taxpayer in Cupertino, CA (Apple headquarters), paying over $8 million in annual property taxes. Globally, Apple paid at least $3.3 billion in taxes last year. In order to maximize profits to shareholders, Apple utilizes legal tax incentives to shift some profits overseas to more competitive tax rates and avoid the combined federal-state U.S. corporate income tax rate of 39.2 percent (the highest in the world). •

Apple donates silently. Apple matches employee donations to a long list of vetted charities. Apple also gave “…Stanford University more than $50 million in the past two years. The company also donated over $50 million to an African aid organization,” reports The New York Times.

Sham Entrepreneur: Makes his money and runs. He does not care about defending the free market system for future generations; he cares about his public image. If the president is a socialist who “budgets” by raising taxes, a sham entrepreneur (like Gates) will tell the media that tax hikes are necessary because: “You’ve gotta fund the government somehow.”

Real Entrepreneur: Challenges the government, even if he or she is a member of the ruling political party. Jobs, for example, was a life-long Democrat. However, he was vocal about his capitalistic beliefs and he persistently challenged Obama to decrease business regulations.

Jobs led by example, teaching the next generation of tech entrepreneurs to defend their businesses. Just look at what happened when entrepreneurs like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales publicly opposed SOPA and PIPA; freedom prevailed over big government.

Overall, I think it is unethical for Gates to use capitalism to achieve billionaire status and then publicly advocate tax policies that will destroy capitalism. I think Gates has a responsibility to stand up to our bully government and defend his freedom and private property rights. For, by defending his rights, he will help ensure that babies—future generations of American entrepreneurs—have the same opportunities to achieve success that he had.

I live in Seattle and know the culture here as well as the facts on the ground.

Mary Gates was genuine, her son Bill Gates III is not.

Bill Gates III has always been a person that looks to gain advantage even if it meant he needed to lie, cheat and steal. And those were the traits possessed by most of the Pirates of Silicon Valley.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEyrivrjAuU

Bill followed his mother’s footsteps for one reason only, it provides cover and control. Whereas his mother involved herself as a wealthy socialite with genuine intention, Gates saw it as a vehicle for wealth preservation and also to allow his wife to mimic the life of Mary Gates.

Gates’ entire life up to his founding of his foundation was about preserving himself and his treasure, in other words self-serving. His foray into philanthropy is not of the goodness of his heart.

A lot of controversy exists on whether the world is a better place because of Gates. Would Netscape or Apple have accomplished the same results without Gates’ thievery and cheating? As long as the world is a better place because of the fighting of the silicon priates, nothing much wrong can be said of the way Gates handled himself. But to try and create an image as having genuine concern for humanity is a joke. But having an image as a humanitarian does provide a degree of protection from the Justice Department anti-trust hacks and enemies such as Larry Ellison. It’s all self-serving.

If Gates was genuine, he would give the entire 40 billion foundation endowment away. But he wants to control it, why?

The wealthy of Seattle know why. It’s because charitable trusts when set up right represent the ultimate tax shelter.

And as long as he is doling out 3% a year from the endowment for malaria and vaccines, he is untouchable. Of course to keep the grants flowing and the endowment preserved, back-end hedge funds and fixed income groups are needed. Such entities provide Gates a means to influence markets in the normal business sense.

His father is a typical liberal. Wants the rich to pay income taxes in Washington State of which he himself is largely exempt. There is no income tax in Washington. So he followed the historical purveyors of the federal income tax and proposed an initiative of taxing incomes only 1%. Of course that 1% will grow to 5%, then 10% and then 15%. People here could see through that and his initiative went down in flames.

"Bill Gates III has always been a person that looks to gain advantage even if it meant he needed to lie, cheat and steal. And those were the traits possessed by most of the Pirates of Silicon Valley.

Including your "hero", Steve Jobs. Jobs is as big or bigger thief than Gates, and he started earlier. When he and Wozniak were "birthing" Apple, he set it up so he (Jobs) benefited and Wozniak got the short straw. Jobs is no more an "inventor" than Gates. Wozniak was the innovator at the early Apple. Jobs talent was the ability to PROMOTE (both Apple and himself). He was also good at finding and developing guys like Wozniak, stealing their ideas, and convincing them that said thievry was a good thing for them.

I suggest you read "Fire in the Valley" and some other early histories of the development of the personal computer. There is zero difference between Gates and Jobs.

I read Fire in the Valley a long time ago.

And yes, Jobs was also a thief.

But Jobs came from very humble beginnings and was always grateful to people along the way to his success.

Gates on the other hand was a spoiled kid from an affluent family who had no second thoughts about plotting to cheat or rid himself of those that helped him achieve his success, e.g. Paul Allen, when he no longer needed them

Jobs stole from Xerox. Gates stole from Jobs. The difference is that Xerox was not all that into micro computers and was essentially indifferent about letting others look in their toolbag. Whereas Gates solicited Jobs and was given a job contract to bring software applications to Jobs’ computer products. When allowed to develop for Apple Gates decided to rip them off.

Two completely different characters, two completely different set of morals and ethics.

People like Jobs have my respect. People like Gates get my smile while I track their betrayals and plot to deliver them the same. What goes around comes around.

The point is that Gates is not a true philanthropist, he is a tax dodger.

If there were no income tax. Gates would not have a charitable trust. He might donate money and that would be philanthropy but a charitable trust is a tax shelter when set up right, and he would not need it.

All the big money managers know a CT is a tax shelter. Jim Kramer of Mad Money has a charitable trust and so do many many more wealthy people on the Street. They know it’s a game and charity is not what drives them unless it’s charity for their families and friends first.

It’s a shame that the money class have to go to extremes to preserve their wealth from government confiscation. “You get your CT setup? You use that guy I suggested? Yep, got it all taken care of.” Setting up a CT and calling oneself a philanthropist is a lie when the purpose is to preserve wealth. The income tax forces people and businesses to be what they are not. Gates is not a genuine philanthropist.

Here’s the solution to the income tax:

http://www.fairtax.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_faq

When the above tax code is put in place to replace the income tax code, then people like Gates will not need to setup CTs.

"But Jobs came from very humble beginnings and was always grateful to people along the way to his success."

I'll agree that Jobs "came from humble beginnings", but that was and is the end of it. His treatment of others was not one iota different from Gates.

"Two completely different characters, two completely different set of morals and ethics."

Malarkey. Jobs stole from anybody he could get away with doing so, including Wozniak. Jobs for many years did zip for his "out-of-wedlock" daughter. AFAIK, Gates has never had any out-of-wedlock offspring.

I'd trust Gates a lot sooner than I would (have) Jobs. Neither of them were particularly trustworthy.

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