London: Steve Jobs kept a letter from Bill Gates next to his deathbed, it has emerged - the latest suggestion the reported rivals had a close friendship. The letter, sent as the Apple founder's death was imminent, told him he should feel proud about his life's work and the company he had built.
Gates, founder and former CEO of Microsoft, made the revelation during an interview with The Daily Telegraph, in which he spoke highly of his rival.
The duo had reportedly locked horns throughout their careers as Microsoft picked up the pace, with Apple initially lagging behind.
In a biography published after his death in October, Jobs branded Gates a 'basically unimaginative' person who 'ripped off' other people's ideas.
But in the interview, the 56-year-old billionaire shot down these claims, praising the creator of the iPhone and iPad.
'He spent a lot of his time competing with me,' Gates told The Telegraph.
'There are lots of times when Steve said [critical] things about me. If you took the more harsh examples, you could get quite a litany.'
But he added: 'Steve was an incredible genius who contributed immensely to the field I was in ... We enjoyed each [other’s work].'
Gates has previously pointed out that Jobs' frustration with him could have been down to Microsoft's business success - while Apple struggled for years, only becoming dominant in the last decade.
But their friendship blossomed when Gates left Microsoft in 2007 to set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife.
He organised an event with Jobs, and 'he couldn't have been nicer', he said.
A few months before Jobs passed away, Gates visited him at his home, where they spoke for hours about the past and the future.
He later wrote him a letter: 'I told Steve about how he should feel great about what he had done and the company he had built. I wrote about his kids, whom I had got to know.'
The letter was not meant to be conciliatory, The Telegraph points out.
'There was no peace to make. We were not at war. We made great products, and competition was always a positive thing. There was no [cause for] forgiveness.'
When Jobs died in October, his wife called Gates.
He told the Telegraph: 'She said: "Look, this biography really doesn’t paint a picture of the mutual respect you had." And she said he’d appreciated my letter and kept it by his bed.'
Despite rumours that the two had a fraught relationship, it is not the first time Gates has praised Jobs.
At the time of his death, Gates said: 'The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. I will miss Steve immensely.'
