27 June 2008: Bill Gates' last day as a full-time Microsoft employee
On June 27, 2008 Bill Gates worked his last day as a full-time employee of Microsoft, the company he co-founded 33 years earlier, to focus on his foundation. He stayed on as chairman. Microsoft's stock had gone largely nowhere since 2000, and many thought its best days were over. Its shares did not take off again until a new CEO's cloud strategy years later.
The lesson: Founders leaving does not end a company, but a turnaround often needs fresh leadership and strategy.
What it meant for investors
$1,000 in Microsoft at the start of 2008 → $13,714 today, vs $4,626 in the S&P 500.
We start the clock at the start of 2008, the year it happened. That is 13.7 times the money, and $9,088 more than a plain index fund made over the same years.
What Microsoft teaches: A great business bought at a silly price can still deliver a lost decade; Microsoft's profits grew for years while its 2000 valuation slowly deflated.
| Bought in | Price then | Worth today | S&P 500 would be |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | $35.00 | $13,714 | $4,626 |
| 2010 | $30.00 | $16,000 | $6,071 |
| 2012 | $27.00 | $17,778 | $5,312 |
green = beat the S&P 500 · red = lost money
What if you bought Microsoft? Every starting year and the full story →
More Microsoft history
- 30 January 2007: Windows Vista launches to consumers
- 13 March 1986: Microsoft goes public
- 4 April 1975: Microsoft is founded in Albuquerque
- 25 April 2019: Microsoft reaches a $1 trillion market value
- 4 July 1996: Hotmail declares independence from your ISP
- 12 July 2006: EU fines Microsoft for dragging its feet
Could you have called it at the time? The wheel picks the year, you pick the position, ten seconds a pick.
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