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Oct 2, 2025 8:10 AM

When Bill Gates Questioned Lyft CEO Risher's Move To Jeff Bezos' 'Tiny, Little Internet Bookstore'—'Stupidest Decision' Ever

David Risher, the current CEO of Lyft Inc. (NASDAQ:LYFT), recently shared a bold career move he made in 1996 that earned him a scathing rebuke from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates.

Gates Questions Risher’s Unconventional Move To Amazon

In a recent episode of Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast, Risher recounted a conversation with Gates in 1996. At that time, Risher was a successful employee at Microsoft when he decided to leave for a new startup called Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN).

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Gates was not shy about expressing his opinion on Risher’s decision. “You mean to tell me you’re leaving this company for some tiny, ...