When the biggest boys in the technology industry hang out together, we can just imagine what the conversation will be centered around.
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates and Oracle cofounder and CTO Larry Ellison were spotted hanging out with tennis great John McEnroe at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California on Tuesday. They were watching Serena Williams play Monica Niculescu, of Romania, in a qualifying match, and Williams won the game.
It’s so interesting that fifteen years ago, both companies were hated rivals, and no one would have ever predicted that a decade and a half later, the cofounders of both companies will be in such close proximity. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, and even until a few years ago, Gates and Ellison were reportedly arch rivals, and had often publicly attacked each other.
However, in recent years, the two companies have been slowly burying the hatchet and in 2013, they announced a surprising new partnership. And now, Gates and Ellison are public hanging out with each other! Sweet…..