Paul Allen had been searching for an opportunity to bring down Feng Yu. His wish is to kick Feng Yu out of Microsoft’s Board of Directors.
But Feng Yu has absolute control over the Chinese market. This is his advantage, and Bill Gates trusted Feng Yu. That’s why Paul Allen’s plan cannot be implemented.
Paul Allen knows Bill Gates will not cooperate with Feng Yu for long. Microsoft announced that they will not be providing Microsoft Office for free during the Win98 launch.
Win98 is already selling at a low price, and Microsoft will not continue to give up a portion of their profits. More than 60% of China’s PCs are using the original Microsoft operating system, and this is considered a victory for Microsoft.
When Microsoft has gotten a monopoly on China’s operating system, other software companies in China will be affected, and Microsoft will raise the price of its system.
After knowing Bill Gates’ plan, Paul Allen, no long object Microsoft’s cooperation with Feng Yu. He believed in Bill Gates, and after Microsoft gained control over the Chinese market, he will kick Feng Yu out of the board!
Paul Allen had been waiting patiently to get the opportunity to kick Feng Yu out and humiliate him.
But now, Paul Allen cannot wait any longer!
Feng Yu’s team had criticized and embarrassed Paul Allen on the media several times.
When Paul Allen’s men were promoting him for getting on the cover page of <Time> magazine, Feng Yu’s team revealed something surprising to the media.
The <Time> magazine had contacted Feng Yu first, and Feng Yu rejected had their interview three times. That means Feng Yu is the first-choice, and Paul Allen is only a replacement.
Paul Allen is furious!
I am just a replacement?! I am the second-biggest shareholder of Microsoft and a regular on the World’s Richest man list! How can I be Feng Yu’s replacement? I am one of the co-founders of Microsoft! Without me, Microsoft will not exist! My IQ is one of the top ten in the history of mankind! How much is Feng Yu’s IQ?
That Feng Yu is only an outsider and had invested in Microsoft after making some money from the stock markets. If it was not for Bill Gates, how can Feng Yu enter the board?
Look what happens after Feng Yu entered the board? He had missed most of the board meetings without any valid reasons, and had asked his assistant to do all his work! Did he think Microsoft is his home?!
Bill Gates is also unhappy with Feng Yu because of the video game console. Paul Allen believes that if he can find a valid reason, Feng Yu will definitely be kicked out!
Other than Ballmer, all other directors are unhappy with Feng Yu.
Paul Allen had been searching for this opportunity. Today, someone had told him an important piece of information about Feng Yu, and this might make Bill Gates agree to kick Feng Yu out of the board.
……
“Paul, I know you and Feng dislike each other. This is an open secret, and everyone in the company knows about this. But Feng is very important to the company’s strategy. Two years. We only need two more years, and we will gain control over the Chinese market. At that time, we will not need Feng’s help.” Bill Gates persuaded.
This is the 9th time Paul Allen asked Bill Gates to kick Feng Yu out of the board this year, and it is only March.
That means Paul Allen had brought this up to Bill Gates almost every week.
“Bill, if we allow Feng to be our company’s director, Microsoft’s reputation might be tarnished.”
“What happened? Paul, just forget about the NBA match. That is only a game, and you cannot make any money out from it.” Bill Gates thought Paul Allen is upset that his team had lost to Feng Yu and is trying to find an excuse.
“I am not talking about basketball!” Paul Allen is going crazy. Why does everyone think that he is upset over his team’s defeat?
Although Paul Allen is upset but compared to Microsoft’s profits, his team is nothing. Just like what Bill Gates said. His team cannot make any money for him.
Paul Allen wants to kick Feng Yu out of the board, and without Feng Yu’s bonus shares at the end of the year, he can get more shares. The shares are worth more than his team.
Also, kicking Feng Yu out of the board will affect Feng Yu more, and Paul Allen can humiliate him.
“Bill, I am talking about Microsoft’s matters. We have an agreement with the hardware manufacturers that we will not produce PCs and its components, right?”
“Yes. The game console is not considered PC or PC components.” Bill Gates is puzzled why Paul Allen is asking him this.
“That means all our directors are not allowed to manufacture PC components, right?”
“Are you talking about Feng Yu’s shares in Lenovo? His stake in Lenovo has nothing to do with us. Also, the PCs he produced are not under Microsoft’s brand, and Lenovo’s primary market is in China. The Chinese government also has a stake in that company.”
“No. I am not talking about Lenovo. I am talking about a graphic card company, Nvidia.”
“I had heard of Nvidia before. But what does it have to do with Feng Yu and Microsoft? All hardware components have to be compatible with our software. Isn’t this normal?”
“But what if Feng owns the majority stake of this company? This company is specialized in graphic cards, and Feng is one of Microsoft’s directors and a member of the board. Will other hardware manufacturers think that we are using Feng Yu to enter the hardware market?” Paul Allen said.
“This… Nvidia has nothing to do with Microsoft, and Microsoft does not have any shares in that company. The other hardware manufacturer should not say anything.”
Bill Gates has a headache. Microsoft had been found guilty for Anti-trust last year because they had bundled and sold their products. Microsoft is also being sued for monopolizing the market in many countries.
If Microsoft is misunderstood for entering the hardware manufacturing sector now, the company will face more problems.
“Bill, stop hesitating. Feng is very ambitious. He wants to enter both the hardware and software industry and be the market leader in the IT sector. Last year, he was announced as the World’s Second Richest Billionaire, and he becomes arrogant. You might still win him this year, but what about next year? If Feng controls both the hardware and software, his net worth will shoot up and suppress you!”
Paul Allen knows how important the title of the World’s Richest Billionaire is to Bill Gates, despite the latter always showed he is not bothered by it.
Bill Gates paused for a second and said. “I think it’s time for me to have a talk with Feng.”
