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Dangerous Times: Ballmer Dodges Eggs, While Gates 'Sued' Over Broken Toe
Published: May 21, 2008
by Alex Woodie
Microsoft's leadership has had a rough go of it this week. First, CEO Steve Ballmer was targeted by an egg-throwing protester during a speech in Hungary. Then, Warren Buffett, the world's richest man, said he would sue Microsoft founder and chairman Bill Gates--the world's second richest man and a fellow philanthropist--for a broken toe he suffered during a visit to Gates' house last week.
Buffett disclosed his litigation plans yesterday during a press conference in Switzerland. According to a CNBC report, when Buffett was asked what he thought of passing Gates on the list of world's richest people, Buffett said:
"Bill and I are very good. I was out at his house last week, and actually I broke a toe out there. So, I'm going to sue him and my margin will widen considerably over his if my suit is successful about my broken toe."
Gates and Buffett, of course, are good friends, and work together to spend their huge fortunes on humanitarian causes around the world through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Ballmer's experience in nearby Hungary wasn't nearly as jovial. In fact, the attack, which you can view here on YouTube, is downright disturbing.
Ballmer was beginning a speech at a university in Budapest, and was asking the students if they had finished studying for exams. Suddenly, a man in the fourth or fifth row with a shirt that read "Microsoft = corruption" written on the back, stood up and started ranting at Ballmer, at one point yelling "give the money back."
Then the attacker threw several eggs at Ballmer, who took cover behind the podium. Ballmer narrowly escaped the gooey projectiles, which appeared to hit the whiteboard behind him.
The weird part about the whole thing was the audience reaction. They laughed at the first egg, and only expressed concern when the attacker kept throwing eggs at their guest. Still, nobody did anything to stop the attack. When he was done throwing eggs, students in the attacker's row politely got up to let the attacker out, where two men in suits escorted him out of the building.
Ballmer was visibly shaken by the incident, but did his best to shrug it off. "It was a friendly disruption," he quipped. "That broke my train of thought."
Ballmer was lucky it was just eggs, and not something else.
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