In the aftermath of the government breakup of Microsoft, lots of people asked: Why didn’t Bill Gates settle the anti-trust case against him? Now, his stock is down. His famously loyal employees are demoralized and leaving him.
And there’s a big black cloud over Redmond, Washington. Bill Gates, was the high tech hero who invented the new economy, the embodiment of a new competitive spirit for a new age. But now he’s just another rich, arrogant, monomaniacal, corporate titan. Even with the appeals court case coming up this month, even with a new administration that might be more disposed to him, even without David Boies, the fix might be in for Bill Gates.
One of his colleagues said: “Vindication will be bittersweet. The company suffered too much. Before, people thought the world of us. Now, either the decision stands, in which people think we’re criminals, or the decision is over-turned and people think we got away with something.”
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)
Guests:
John Heilemann, author of “Pride Before The Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era.”