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| Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. |
The billionaire buddies stopped speaking to each other after Mr Ballmer resigned from his post as CEO of the tech giant, according a Vanity Fair article.
“Gates and Ballmer are both aggressive personalities”, Sky News quotes the article’s author, Bethany McLean as saying.
"They stopped speaking to each other as a result of the bad blood surrounding Ballmer's resignation."
It also claims that Microsoft’s acquisition of Finnish phone manufacturer Nokia was a key factor in the pair’s friendship coming to an end.
It alleges Mr Gates was one of several board members against the deal which resulted in the “ultimate betrayal” for Ballmer.
Mr Ballmer resigned as Microsoft CEO and stepped down from the company’s board earlier this year.
"Given my confidence and the multitude of new commitments I am taking on now, I think it would be impractical for me to continue to serve on the board, and it is best for me to move off," Ballmer said in a publicly posted letter to his successor, Satya Nadella.
"I bleed Microsoft — I have for 34 years and I always will."
Mr Nadella, in a response posted online, thanked Ballmer for his contributions to Microsoft and said he supported his decision to leave the board.
Mr Ballmer said he would be devoting time to new endeavors that include teaching and the Los Angeles Clippers NBA team he acquired earlier this month. He paid a record $2 billion for the Clippers.
Mr Gates has a net worth of $80.6 billion while Mr Ballmer's wealth is said to be $22.2 billion.
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