The world knows that Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were frenemies. They were rivals in so many ways, yet they have that unique mutual respect for each other.
And this relationship was built since the two were young.
Before Apple and Microsoft was even founded, the two already knew each other personally. But they only started interacting more closely after they have established their respected companies, and knew that they were rivals.
As both companies grew and mature, and as both Jobs and Gates continue leading their companies to reshape how the world sees computers and technology, the two's relationship only deepens, and that despite saying nasty things to each other from time to time, those comments are based on business, not personal. In fact, Bill Gates once saved Apple from bankruptcy, which was something no pure rivals would ever do.
And this relationship commenced until Jobs' death.
Bill Gates shared an anecdote about his relationship with Steve Jobs, recalling:
"Look, I got the wrong batch. I got the coding batch, and this guy got the marketing-design batch, so good for him."
Jobs once suggested Gates to take LSD, a powerful hallucinogenic drug that alters perception, thoughts, and feelings, often causing intense visual and auditory hallucinations, to improve his design sensibilities, just so he could design Microsoft products better.
This was also detailed in Walter Isaacson's biography of Jobs, where Jobs is quoted saying Gates is "basically unimaginative" and would "be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger."
Gates acknowledges his superior coding skills and software development prowess. His technical expertise far exceled Jobs.
But when it comes to design and marketing, Gates claims that he is nothing compared to the Apple late co-founder.
Gates admires Jobs "messianic" skills, and called Jobs a "singular figure" who has an extraordinary ability to captivate people, and saying that Jobs' lack in technical knowledge actually made him impressive.
"He was never an engineer. Woz [Steve Wozniak, fellow Apple co-founder] was a real engineer — I mean, a hardcore engineer."
Gates has also shared some other candid thoughts about his relationship with Jobs:
Read: 'I Was So Jealous', And Amazed Of The 'Genius' Steve Jobs
Even years after Steve Jobs' passing, Bill Gates' respect for him remains unwavering.
Gates once said that months before Jobs died, the two "spent literally hours reminiscing and talking about the future."
"There was no peace to make. We were not at war. We made great products, and competition was always a positive thing. There was no (cause for) forgiveness," said Gates.
After their meeting, he wrote Jobs a letter, telling him "how he should feel great about what he had done and the company he had built. I wrote about his kids, whom I had got to know."
This very letter was kept in a drawer by his bed, until he died.
Steve Jobs' wife, Laurene, called Gates after Isaacson's biography went on sale, just to let him know how much his letter had meant to Jobs.
"She said; 'Look, this biography really doesn’t paint a picture of the mutual respect you had.’ And she said he’d appreciated my letter and kept it by his bed," Gates said.