inignoct wrote:
] ] It may just be pocket change for the richest man in the
] ] world, but Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has been fined
] ] $800,000 by the federal government for violating an
] ] antitrust rule.
] ]
] ]
] ] ] The technical incident has nothing to do with the
] ] government's massive antitrust battles with Microsoft
] ] (MSFT: Research, Estimates).
] ]
] ] Gates, whose fortune has been estimated at more than $40
] ] billion, ran afoul of the Federal Trade Commission and
] ] the Justice Department's Antitrust Division for his
] ] purchases of stock in a drug company and a waste-hauling
] ] firm.
]
]
] Doh
]
] [ Of course, if you do the ratio of $800k:$40B and then do
] $X:$your_net_worth, and solve for X this amounts to less than
] a parking ticket in relative terms. It's a lot of money, but
] fortunately for him, he has it, a lot. -k]

True, true, but also keep in mind that since this is a fine and not actually garnishing of profits or something similar that this is 800,000 that could have gone to a charity. (where 800,000 would actually BE worth much more.)

Just speculating, since I dont know how he runs his finacials, but still...there are multiple ways of seeing it.

RE: Microsoft Gates fined $800,000 for antitrust violations - May. 3, 2004