A new report on Bill Gates’ past behaviour at Microsoft has uncovered a litany of power abuses, including office bullying, erratic behaviour, and the rejection of diversity initiatives.
Microsoft board member Maria Klawe cites Gates’ outbursts during diversity talks in board meetings in the 2010s.
“Are you trying to fucking destroy the company?”, Gates would say of such talks.
“The message was, ‘Caring about diversity has nothing to do with the success of Microsoft,’” she explained.
Another former executive admitted that Gates “yelled at everyone the same,” and many appreciated the founder’s straightforwardness.
Others accepted this behaviour as part of his awkward personality. “He doesn’t know how to joke really or how to connect with people,” one former executive explained.
“If he told you he liked your hair, he wasn’t trying to flirt with you. He just actually liked your hair.”
This pile-on comes as Gates is tied to Jeffrey Epstein, who he has denied having a personal relationship with, and as details of his marriage come into the light amidst his divorce proceedings.
“It is extremely disappointing that there have been so many lies published about the cause, the circumstances and the timeline of Bill Gates’s divorce,” a spokesperson for Gates wrote in a statement.
“The rumours and speculation surrounding Mr. Gates are becoming increasingly absurd and it’s unfortunate that people who have little to no knowledge are being characterised as ‘sources.’”
“The Microsoft of 2021 is very different from the Microsoft of 2000,” current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reminded us in May.
