alchresearch Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I think Gates was very lucky and just in the right place at the right time. He didn't even write the DOS he sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJC1 Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 And closer to home: Tony Blair and the £8million tax 'mystery' Former Prime Minister Tony Blair channelled millions of pounds through a complicated web of companies and paid just a fraction in tax, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/8999890/Tony-Blair-and-the-8million-tax-mystery.html You can do it through equipment too, pumping money in to another company, to make it look like the Business makes no profit in the UK. Thing is this equipment is leased from a subsidiary company in the cayman islands! it's then shuttled back. It's money-laundering, only legal. Even if the govt were to close the loopholes, clever accountancy would create new ones. There will always be super-rich greedy b@stards trying to keep hold of their dosh. The answer is not to create these individuals in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingjimmy Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Like the ones who dared to write innovative software only to have their businesses crushed by Microsoft's illegal anti-competitive behaviour? Yeah, he's all heart that guy. He was a ruthless businessman, now he's a philanthropist. Also, if if weren't for the microsoft millions there would be no Valve, and therefore no half life 2. So on balance, definitely a force for good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llamatron Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 It's all about snobbery, if Bill Gates wasn't the Head of Microsoft, he'd be one of the most respected men in the Universe IMO, but everyone hates MS because of Xbox and of course, Windows, so naturally Bill Gates cops for all the hatred. Thats true, if he was head of a company that made good products we may well respect him-he isn't! I don't see the problem with this kind of snobbery:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampersand Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 No he doesn't, not by any stretch of the imagination. In 2010 MS made $52.76 billion. The Gates foundation had total charitable distributions of $3.2bn. Bill Gates "only" owns about 6.2% of Microsoft shares - he doesn't get all the $52bn - only a proportion of the dividend paid I think that the dividends paid in 2010/11 amounted to about $16bn (although I haven't been able to find an accurate figure on this, but dividends have apparently averaged approximately 25% of earnings since 2003), which, on these figures, means Mr Gates got just a few dollars less than £1bn Edit - according to their web site, in the last 18 months Microsoft has paid dividends totalling $1.04 per share - Mr Gates has 520,980,456 shares Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercurian Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 And closer to home: Tony Blair and the £8million tax 'mystery' Former Prime Minister Tony Blair channelled millions of pounds through a complicated web of companies and paid just a fraction in tax, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/8999890/Tony-Blair-and-the-8million-tax-mystery.html Tony Blair is a very sick man. Anyone who earns all of that money and greedily tries to cheat the nation out of tax is a true sicko. I feel ashamed that I once voted for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSmith Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Tony Blair is a very sick man. Anyone who earns all of that money and greedily tries to cheat the nation out of tax is a true sicko. I feel ashamed that I once voted for him. You must have heard the saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Thats true, if he was head of a company that made good products we may well respect him-he isn't! I don't see the problem with this kind of snobbery:confused: So you are a Sony zealot and a Linux fanboy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercurian Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 You must have heard the saying that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I can count the number of politicians who I trust from any political party on one hand. If I had an accident that caused me to lose all my fingers from that same hand, that situation would not change. Thatcher set the me, me, me politics of selfishness snowball rolling and now everyone but the very rich are buried up to the neck in the resulting avalanche. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSmith Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I can count the number of politicians who I trust from any political party on one hand. If I had an accident that caused me to lose all my fingers from that same hand, that situation would not change. Thatcher set the me, me, me politics of selfishness snowball rolling and now everyone but the very rich are buried up to the neck in the resulting avalanche. I don't trust any of them, I just trust me, which is why I'm not up to the neck in the resulting avalanche, unfortunately I'm not rich either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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