Then and now: what has become of the first members of Microsoft with photo 1978

Microsoft - it is one of the most storied American companies, and it is - one of the most legendary group shots group. Motley young people gathered for a group photo, like a family. It was in Albuquerque in 1978. If you saw this picture on Facebook or LinkedIn, you would have invested in such a company money? Moot. Surely you would immediately answer "no", because - well, you just look at them! On the other hand, then it turns out that it is a group portrait of Microsoft staff.

One of the first employees of the company, Bob Greenberg, pictured in the center, won the opportunity to do a group photo in the studio, calling the radio and to guess the name of the slain president in the quiz. Company colleagues gathered, dressed in the best, and a legend was born of American business. Most people know that there were two guys in the lower left and lower right corners of the image - Bill Gates and Paul Allen. But what happened to the others?

Bill Gates giving away billions who earned the Microsoft

Everyone knows what happened to this guy. Bill Gates, Microsoft built a business from scratch and turned it into the most valuable companies in the technology sector. At the same time, he became the richest man in the world and now donates his fortune on all sorts of good things.

Andrea Lewis became a writer and freelance journalist

Andrea Lewis was the only employee of the company from Albuquerque. It was a technical writer at Microsoft, that is, to write documentation with explanations to the software company. She retired from Microsoft in 1983 and became a freelance journalist and writer. She owns a part of the literary center "House Hugo" (Hugo House) in Seattle.

Mary Wood submitted to Microsoft two years later, the court

Maria Wood was Microsoft accountant and married another one of the first employees of the company, as shown in the photo. She retired two years later, is supplied to the company in court for sexual discrimination. Microsoft settled the case amicably. After that, Wood disappeared from public attention, raising children and working as a volunteer periodically.

Paul Allen has spent billions on their sports teams, start-ups and much more

Paul Allen - the most famous person in the photograph after Bill Gates. Co-founder of Microsoft occupies 40 th place ranking of the richest people by Forbes magazine in the world. He owns the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team, football team Seattle Seahawks, one of the world's largest yachts and other interesting assets.

Bob O'Rir became ranchers

O'Rir Bob was one of the most senior employees of Microsoft. He worked at NASA mission control center when American astronauts landed on the moon. At Microsoft, he served as chief mathematician, and he is credited with the code processing of credit in the DOS and its optimization for IBM personal computers. He left the company in 1993, he moved to his native Texas and started breeding livestock.

Bob Greenberg retired from Microsoft and worked for the company that produces dolls, Cabbage Patch Kids

That Bob Greenberg won in the quiz program, so that it appeared a group photo. He left Microsoft in 1981, and prior to that was involved in the development of the new version of Basic programming language. After that, he helped the family company Coleco create dolls Cabbage Patch Kid, which enjoyed great success. In 2008, he developed software for golf courses.

Mark MacDonald resigned from the Microsoft, because the company has become too big, but still it has returned

Mark McDonald was the first employee receives a salary, and he resigned in 1984 because he did not like how big the company gets. After leaving Microsoft, this was arranged for another company under the leadership of Paul Allen - Asymetrix. Then he got into the company - the manufacturer of the software from Seattle Design Intelligence, which Microsoft bought in 2000. So McDonald was back at Microsoft. In 2011, he was the second time left the company and now works at a startup Thunder, which is developing a marketing software.

Gordon Letvin remained in Microsoft longest, except for Bill Gates

Gordon Letvin worked for the company until 1993, almost the longest, who was in the picture (the longest was Gates). Letvin was in Microsoft programmer and left when he wanted to take a break from the grueling work, people in the company. Now Letvina have a ranch in Arizona and he directs the environmental charity fund Wilburforce Foundation with his wife, Rose.

Steve Wood founded the Wireless Services Corporation

Steve Wood - spouse Mary Wood, who resigned from Microsoft and sued for sex discrimination. Steve left the company in 1980, but after that collaborated with Paul Allen in the work on several other projects. This keen businessman who now owns a consulting company in the field of software called Airnote and works part-time as a volunteer in the fire brigade.

Bob Wallace was a fan of psychedelic drug research, and founded a company to produce software after working in the Microsoft

It seems that Bob Wallace was the most detached from the reality of the first employees of Microsoft. After leaving the company, he spent time and money on a study of psychedelic drugs. In addition, he founded a company for production of software called Quicksoft. Bob died in 2002 from pneumonia.

Jim Lane started his own software company

Jim Lane worked as a project manager and retired in 1985. According to rumors, he announced his resignation, saying that Microsoft has beaten all the enthusiasm out of it. Jim started his own company, which is also engaged in the production of software. When he worked at Microsoft, he has helped to establish vital for the company's partnership with Intel, Microsoft, without which could not have become the leader in the PC market.

At the top - the very picture of 1978, and at the bottom - it is recreated in 2008, when Bill Gates left the company.

Since then, Gates handed over the post of Director General of the 30th in a row Microsoft employee Steve Ballmer. That, in turn, handed over the reins Satya Nadella in 2014. From the first galaxy of employees in the company was only Bill Gates, and then as the executive head of the board and adviser Nadella.