Rivlin, Gary. The Plot to Get Bill Gates: An Irreverent Investigation of
the World's Richest Man ... and the People Who Hate Him. New York: Random
House (Times Business), 1999. 360 pages.
Unlike most books about Bill Gates, this one is less focused on
internal events at Microsoft, and draws in several other kinky Silicon
Valley luminaries who had reason to watch Microsoft closely. Nothing rises
to the level of a "plot," despite the catchy title. It's closer to "worried
self-defense." When this book was written, there was still plenty of money
to be made by everyone. Gary Kildall, Scott McNealy, Larry Ellison, and
others who disliked Bill Gates were all stinking rich, only they weren't as
rich as Bill. So you pout, or you throw insults, or you play macho on your
yacht, but no one risks what they already have by "plotting."
There have been big changes since this book was published in 1999.
The bubble burst in 2000, only to rise again by 2005. Today Eric Schmidt,
a minor pre-Google character in this book, is counting his billions. The
bubble seems ready to burst once again, now that Google is overhyped and
totally dependent on ad income. Microsoft, meanwhile, got legal relief
when the Democrats lost in 2000, only to find themselves in trouble with
the European Union. Gates is interested in philanthropy, and few see him
as a threat. Microsoft never did make money from the Internet, while Google
is making too much money, most of which is accidental and undeserved.
ISBN 0-8129-3006-1
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