The Inside Story of How Bill Gates and Microsoft Earned a 400 Percent Return on Comcast

Bill Gates speaks during the Global Investment Summit at the Science Museum in London, on Oct. 19, 2021. Leon Neal/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Bill Gates and Microsoft Corporation recognized the true potential of high-speed data and video services through a cable delivery network back in the 1990s.

Microsoft announced it invested $1 billion in Comcast Corporation in 1997 to enhance the deployment of Comcast’s network to better deliver broadband capabilities. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts discussed how the deal with Microsoft occurred in an interview with Bloomberg’s David Rubenstein this week.

Data Will Eclipse TV

A team of various cable companies was formed to meet with some of the leading technology firms, including Microsoft, Roberts said. During a meeting with then-CEO Gates, the world’s richest person delivered his vision: Someday soon, the data business would eclipse the television business.