HALF-WAY THERE
This is more anecdotal fuel to the on-going media fascination with the competition between Google and Microsoft.
The latest Forbes 400 (2005) results are in, and looking at the list of the fortunes made from companies that have search-related businesses, SearchEngineWatch compiled this interesting sub-list from the Forbes list:
Bill Gates, Microsoft
Estimated Wealth: $51 Billion
Ranking: 1stSteve Ballmer, Microsoft
Estimated Wealth: $14 Billion
Ranking: 11thSergey Brin, Google
Estimated Wealth: $11 Billion
Ranking: 16th (tie)Larry Page, Google
Estimated Wealth: $11 Billion
Ranking: 16th (tie)Fast Fact: In case you're wondering, both Brin and Page ranked 43rd on last year's Forbes 400 with. Their wealth was then estimated at $4 billion each. Hat tip, Google IPO!
Jeff Bezos, A9/Amazon.com
Estimated Wealth: $4.8 Billion
Ranking: 42ndEric Schmidt, Google
Estimated Wealth: $4.0 Billion
Ranking: 52ndDavid Filo, Yahoo
Estimated Wealth: $3 Billion
Ranking: 73Jerry Yang, Yahoo
Estimated Wealth: $2.5 Billion
Ranking: 93rdMark Cuban, IceRocket
Estimated Wealth: $1.8 Billion
Ranking: 164thBarry Diller, Ask Jeeves-IAC/InterActive
Estimated Wealth: $1.3 Billion
Ranking: 258th
Interesting list...the Google founders came in 3rd and 4th, or more correctly, third and third. Also, I personally think Oracle's Larry Ellison (5th on the Forbes list with $17 billion), should have been on this as well, since his company indirectly fuels the world's broader search business...he'd have slipped in nicely between Gates and Ballmer as the new number two.
Anyhow, my first reaction looking at this list was that Larry and Sergey together were equal to almost half of Bill's alleged net worth.
I say alleged only because these are estimates by Forbes, and as good as they might be, the real numbers are generally not publicly known. Also, these numbers are transient in nature, and reflect the wild and woolly world of the stock market, subject to change in any direction at any time of course.
Regardless, it's interesting. And, this is when Google market cap is a third of Microsoft's ($89 billion vs. $272 billion, according to Yahoo! Finance). Coincidentally, both companies celebrated their birthdays this month, Microsoft being 30 on September 23rd I believe, and Google being
7 on September 7th*.
"If Google were a person, it would have started elementary school late last summer (around August 19), and today it would have just finished the first grade. In other words, we're just getting started."
So Google as a company is roughly a third of Microsoft's market cap and age.
And its two founders are almost half of Gates' net worth in that time.
At this moment in history of course. Not shabby at all.
Bill Gates is certainly not taking this lying down. As columnist Matthew Ingram of the Globe and Mail succinctly summarizes Bill Gates' current take on Google:
"In interviews, Mr. Gates seems a bit peeved at the fuss over Google. In an interview with CNet, he said Google is in "the honeymoon phase," and therefore "people think that they [can] do all things at all times in all ways... you do me-too Google Talk and it's a big deal." Microsoft has had "lots of competitors in their honeymoon phase," he said. "But I'd say, in some ways, this is the biggest honeymoon I've ever seen."
Mr. Gates said Microsoft was planning to stick to its philosophy of providing server-based tools rather than Web-based services, although he admitted the software giant was trying to find ways of doing both, with Windows at the core."
And Microsoft had a media announcement today on its officially entering the paid-search market for MSN and its online properties, starting overseas now and in the US next month.
We're still in the early innings, and this game has a long way to go. But one can't help but keep glancing over at the score board.
* The birthdays above represent the days the companies were founded I believe, rather the days they had their IPOs. If they're correct, that makes Google a Virgo vs. Microsoft's Libra, for those who like to keep score in astrological terms.
Incidentally, Yahoo! horoscopes for both companies show the following for today:
"Figure out a way to bring some green into your immediate circumstances -- and the stars mean helping the environment, not figuring out ways to increase cash flow! Volunteer for a garden or clean-up project, and get some friends to join in, too."
Hey, maybe offering free Google Wi-Fi service counts as a community service project?
"You're fed up with compromise and having to decide everything by committee, but if you let yourself go and trust in the process, you might find some unexpected pockets of delight. Move from moment to moment, and everything will be fine."
Maybe that re-org a few days ago might have been a good move after all.
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