Did Car on eBay Really Once Belong to Bill Gates?
Seattle Post Intelligencer, US
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A listing for a 1990 Lexus LS 400 on eBay last week boasted that none other than the chairman of Microsoft was the original owner.
Newspaper reports from the early 1990s show that Gates did, in fact, drive such a car -- a maroon Lexus. But is the Lexus up for sale really the one Gates drove? It may well be, but a close look at the supporting documents has raised some questions that haven't yet been answered.
In the case of Gates' Lexus, the first red flag is a 1998 letter on Microsoft letterhead, bearing a signature that looks very much like that of Gates' when compared with other public records.
The text of the letter certifies that the car "was owned and driven by William H. Gates, Founder and Chairman of Microsoft, Inc. from 1990 to 1995."Yet Microsoft's official designation is, and was, Microsoft Corp. -- not Microsoft Inc.
Would Gates, or anyone drafting such a letter, make that mistake?Another clue may be in the document that appears to be the car's original certificate of title.
Jan 02, 2006
Seattle Post Intelligencer, US
______________________
A listing for a 1990 Lexus LS 400 on eBay last week boasted that none other than the chairman of Microsoft was the original owner.
Newspaper reports from the early 1990s show that Gates did, in fact, drive such a car -- a maroon Lexus. But is the Lexus up for sale really the one Gates drove? It may well be, but a close look at the supporting documents has raised some questions that haven't yet been answered.
In the case of Gates' Lexus, the first red flag is a 1998 letter on Microsoft letterhead, bearing a signature that looks very much like that of Gates' when compared with other public records.
The text of the letter certifies that the car "was owned and driven by William H. Gates, Founder and Chairman of Microsoft, Inc. from 1990 to 1995."Yet Microsoft's official designation is, and was, Microsoft Corp. -- not Microsoft Inc.
Would Gates, or anyone drafting such a letter, make that mistake?Another clue may be in the document that appears to be the car's original certificate of title.
Jan 02, 2006
