WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
What Happened To The People In Microsoft's Iconic 1978
Company Photo?
It's one of the most iconic photos in American business.A ragtag group of bearded weirdos assembled for a family
portrait in Albuquerque.
Usually, there's a question above the photo: "Would
you have invested?"It's a trick question. You're supposed to answer no –
because well, look at those people – but then you learn it's a company portrait
of Microsoft from 1978.
It was taken just before the then startup left
Albuquerque for Seattle. (Microsoft couldn't find anyone willing to move to New
Mexico.)Early employee Bob Greenberg, pictured in the middle, won
the free portrait after calling in a radio show and guessing the name of an
assassinated president. The gang reluctantly gathered together in some of their
finest attire, and American business legend was made.
We all know what happened with the two guys in the bottom
left and bottom right corners -- Bill Gates, and Paul Allen.
But what about the rest? The question pop up on Hacker News
recently, and they decided to find out.
---------------------
Bill Gates is now giving
away the billions he made from Microsoft
Image:
Business Insider, Microsoft
We all
know what happened with this guy. Bill Gates founded and built Microsoft from
nothing into the most valuable technology company in the world. Along the way
he amassed a fortune, which he's now giving away to all sorts of good causes. --------------------- Andrea
Lewis became a fiction writer and freelance journalist
Image: Business Insider, Microsoft
Andrea Lewis was the only person at the
company that was from Albuquerque. She was a technical writer for Microsoft,
which meant she wrote documents explaining Microsoft's software. She left
Microsoft in 1983, eventually becoming a freelance journalist and fiction
writer. Thanks in part to her Microsoft options, her net worth was estimated at
$2 million by the AP. ---------------------
Maria Wood sued Microsoft
just 2 years later
Image:
Business Insider, MicrosoftMaria Wood
was a book keeper for Microsoft, and married to another one of the early
Microsofties in the picture. She left the company just two years later, suing
it for sexual discrimination. Microsoft settled the case. After that, it
doesn't look like she did much else. She raised her children and became a
volunteer.
---------------------
Paul Allen has spent his
billions on sports teams, startups, and much more
Image:
Business Insider, MicrosoftAfter Bill
Gates, Paul Allen is the most famous guy in the group. Allen, the other
Microsoft cofounder, is the 37th richest person in the world according to Forbes. He's the
owner of the Portland Trailblazers, the Seattle Seahawks, one of the biggest
yachts in the world, and much more.
---------------------
Bob O'Rear went onto be a
cattle rancher
Image:
Business Insider, MicrosoftBob O'Rear
was one of the oldest employees at Microsoft. He was at NASA in Mission Control
when we landed on the moon. At Microsoft he was a chief mathematician, and is credited with
reworking code in DOS, and getting it onto IBM PCs. He left the company in
1983, moved back to his home state of Texas, and did some cattle ranching. His
worth is estimated at $100 million, and he sits on the board of a few local
businesses. ---------------------
Bob Greenberg left
Microsoft, then worked on the Cabbage Patch Kids
Image:
Business Insider, MicrosoftBob
Greenberg was the guy that won a radio call-in contest to get the photo. He
left Microsoft in 1981, after helping the company develop a new version of
BASIC. When he left he went on to help his family's company, Coleco, develop
the Cabbage Patch Kid dolls, which became a huge hit. More recently, he's said to have
worked on golf course software. ---------------------
Marc McDonald left
Microsoft because it was getting big, but ended up back at the company, anyway
Image:
Business Insider, MicrosoftMarc
McDonald was the first salaried employee, and when he left in 1984, it was
because he didn't like how big the company was getting. After leaving Microsoft
he went to another Paul Allen company, Asymetrix. He then went to Seattle
design company Design Intelligence, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2000.
So, he ended up back at Microsoft! According to the AP, he has said
he is worth less than $1 million.
---------------------
Gordon Letwin stayed with
Microsoft longer than anyone other than Bill Gates
Image:
Business Insider, MicrosoftGordon
Letwin was with the company until 1993, the second longest run of all the
employees pictured (Gates is first). He was a programmer at Microsoft, and quit
when he wanted a break from the grind of the company. He has a ranch in
Arizona, and has donated money to some environmental causes. His worth is
estimated at $20 million or so.
---------------------
Steve Wood went on to found
Wireless Services Corp.
Image:
Business Insider, MicrosoftSteve Wood
is the husband of Maria Wood, who eventually left Microsoft under bad
circumstances. Steve left in 1980, but worked with Paul Allen on a few
companies. He founded Wireless Services Corp., a mobile messaging company, in
1996. It's been renamed SinglePoint, and he's now the chairman. He and his
wife's net worth is pegged at $15 million now.
---------------------
Late Bob Wallace researched
on psychedelic drugs and founded a software company after Microsoft
Image:
Business Insider, MicrosoftBob
Wallace seems like he was one of the most far out early Microsoft employees. He
spent time and money researching psychedelic drugs after leaving the company.
He also founded a software company called Quicksoft. He died in 2002 from pneumonia.
---------------------
Jim Lane went on to do his
own software company
Image:
Business Insider, MicrosoftJim Lane
was a project manager who left in 1985 reportedly saying, Microsoft
"beat the enthusiasm out of me." He went on to start his own software
company. At Microsoft he helped with the early partnership with Intel.
(Something that's been pretty useful for Microsoft so far.) ---------------------
Here's one more look at the
gang from 1978 ...
Image:
Microsoft
... And here's a photo of
them from 2008 that Microsoft put together when Bill Gates was leaving the
company
Image:Microsoft
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