Jobs Suggested to Bill Gates That LSD Experience Could Have Benefited Microsoft

Reflecting on his journey to the top, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates recently shared how challenging it was to truly savor the triumphs of his software empire, even after becoming a billionaire. He confessed that reality only set in around the late ’90s. “Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable calling us successful until about 1998 or so,” Gates admitted. “Up until then, I always feared that one mistake could be fatal.”

The dynamic with Apple co-founder Steve Jobs brought some intriguing perspectives on Gates’ leadership and Microsoft’s product launches. During an interview with The Independent, Gates recounted one of Jobs’ memorable critiques, as reported by Fortune. Jobs once remarked that perhaps if Gates had taken acid, he might have had better design taste for his products. Gates responded to this with humor, saying, “Well, I must have gotten a bad batch.”

Looking back, the relationship between Gates and Jobs was a complex one. While Gates contributed software for Apple’s early computers and notably helped rescue Apple from bankruptcy in 1997 by investing a substantial $150 million, their interactions were often peppered with witty banter.

Jobs was renowned for his exceptional design and marketing talents, leading to the success of iconic products like the iPhone and iMac. While Gates may have lacked the same flair for design, he made up for it with remarkable technical know-how.

Gates candidly shared his thoughts, pointing out, “I mastered coding, and he was brilliant at marketing and design, so hats off to him. Our strengths—aside from both being driven leaders pushing boundaries—didn’t overlap much.”

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s ventures into cloud computing soared, significantly bolstering the company’s achievements and contributing to its impressive $3 trillion market valuation. The tech behemoth also concentrated on its Microsoft Office suite, which included widely adopted tools like Word and Excel. Though these products attract millions of users worldwide, they never quite met Jobs’ high standards for product launch pizzazz.

Gates also revealed to The Independent a lesser-known fact about his past: he experimented with drugs before launching Microsoft. “I thought it might make me seem cool, maybe even catch a girl’s interest. Spoiler—didn’t work out,” Gates quipped, wrapping up his reflections.