I am inspired by the stories of the top of the modern IT industry. CEOs of well-known Internet companies who do not leave the charts of the most expensive joint-stock companies in terms of capitalization. Modern punks, from whose messages on Twitter the securities markets fever. Those who have made millions and billions of dollars and do not plan to share them with their family members. In general, we are talking about everyone who changes the world and does it with taste. Do you think they are all children of golden cradles? No matter how it is! Each of them went through an incredibly interesting life path, filled with the most curious stages. I will separately dwell on the most extraordinary moments in the life of my idols within the framework of this material.
Jeff Bezos
He founded his first business at school
It’s cool when the younger generation is shown from an early age exactly how money is made. In the United States, for example, no one will be surprised by a child who sells lemonade in glasses from a decanter prepared by their parents. However, some children from an early age themselves can show everyone how to do business. Jeff Bezos is a prime example of this. He organized his first enterprise while still at school. He set up an educational camp for fourth, fifth and sixth graders. Amazon’s future father named the institution Dream Institute. Within its framework, together with his girlfriend, he helped the children improve their school and other knowledge. The business generated $ 600 in revenue for each of the students. But the history is silent about the number of clients of the enterprise.
Pavel Durov
First business was a beauty pageant
Pavel Durov still appears today with enviable regularity on the pages of a wide variety of Internet publications related to new technologies. However, when he was still in charge of VKontakte, this happened much more often. Special attention has always deserved his love for girls of model appearance, whom he, among other things, actively attracted to promote the social network. Actually, his very first business was associated precisely with the aesthetics of the female body. When Durov was still studying at the university, he decided to organize a beauty contest and even convinced the dean’s office to allocate him incredible money for that time – 100,000 rubles. Having also enlisted the support of sponsors, Pavel himself conducted the casting. Moreover, he treated the models extremely coldly.
Steve Jobs
Created a prototype for modern pinball
Not everyone remembers that there was an episode in Steve Jobs’s life, during which he worked at Atari – this company was engaged in computer games and is still widely known for more than one title. Even fewer fans of new technologies know that it was Jobs who was among the developers of Breakout, one of the main prototypes of the incredibly popular pinball. Even if he had not created Apple and did nothing else for the rest of his life, for just one contribution to the video game industry, he can already be considered one of the most brilliant people of the last 100 years. A really interesting fact that even true fans of Jobs overlook.
Steve Wozniak
Nearly died in a plane crash at the helm
Few know that Steve Wozniak was a civil aviation pilot and even had an accident in which he lost his memory. In 1981, when Apple was actively selling the Apple II computer and thinking about the future of its less successful projects, Wozniak did not cope with takeoff and spread his Beechcraft Bonanza on the runway. The result is partial amnesia. The co-founder of Apple did not remember about the accident and his treatment after it – he was sure that it did not happen. However, when he began to collect memories from the fragments, he eventually managed to recover from amnesia. It’s good that Wozniak survived at all. Without him, including, the fate of Apple would hardly have been that way.
Elon Musk
Wanted to sell Tesla to Google for “penny”
At the time of this writing, Elon Musk is number one in the chart of the richest people in the world. However, his affairs did not always go really smoothly. For example, in 2013, he almost sold Tesla to Google for a very small amount by today’s standards. The search giant could take over the automaker for as little as $ 11 billion. 6 billion was supposed to be given in “cash”, and another 5 billion to be spent on expanding the production base. Elon Musk also wanted to stay in the managerial position for 8 years in order to deal with relatively small sales. However, just before the conclusion of the contract, Model S began to rapidly buy up, so Musk curtailed the takeover. In October 2021, Tesla’s capitalization is approaching $ 770 billion.
Johnny Ive
Responsible for Kylo Ren’s ugly sword
Jony Ive is one of the earliest names in industrial design. He has his own unique view of many things that seem familiar to us, and he changes their vision. That is why it is not surprising that Steve Jobs himself was crazy about him, who entrusted him with the appearance of the most revolutionary Apple gadgets. However, he is responsible not only for them. Kylo Ren’s highly controversial cruciform lightsaber from Star Wars: The Force Awakens is also partly his credit. It was Jony Ive who suggested to Jeffrey Abrams, the film’s director, to make the appearance of the weapon more analogous and even primitive. You can’t say anything – it turned out very extraordinary.
Sergey Brin
Can’t do without fifty personal assistants
For more than 20 years since the founding of Google, its co-founder Sergey Brin has amassed an impressive personal fortune. What can I say, back in 2005, together with his partner Larry Page, a native of the USSR bought himself a private jet. In 2011, he also acquired a personal superyacht worth over $ 80 million. Brin owns real estate in New York and many other American cities. He personally invests in many areas and spares no expense on luxury items. To manage all this, he has over fifty personal assistants. They maintain his property and help control it. Incredible, but true.
Bill Gates
Doesn’t plan to leave his huge fortune to children
Bill Gates needs no introduction. In the recent past, it was he who occupied the top lines in the tops of the richest people in the world and, it seemed, did not plan to stop there. He created Microsoft and made it one of the most popular software in his electronics segment. However, Gates eventually left the business and took up charity work with his wife. He takes part in a wide variety of projects and spends tens of billions of his dollars on the social sector. Interestingly, he has no plans to leave these funds to his own children. He thinks to give each of them 10 million dollars and send them free to sail. They will be able to earn their billions, well done – otherwise they will simply live a wealthy life.
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