WHERE ARE THEY NOW? What happened to the people in Microsoft's iconic 1978 company photo (MSFT)

original microsoft employees

This is an iconic portrait of Microsoft's first 11 employees, dating back to 1978.
Despite their looks here, most of the Microsofties went on to become millionaires.
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates went on to become the second-richest person on the planet.
Paul Allen, his friend and fellow cofounder, passed away in October 2018 after a battle with cancer.
Here's what happened to all of them.

It's one of the most iconic photos in American business.

A ragtag group assembled for a family portrait in Albuquerque.

If you see it on Facebook or LinkedIn, there's usually a question above the photo: "Would you have invested?"

It's a trick question. You're supposed to answer no — because, well, look at those people — but then you learn it's a company portrait of Microsoft from 1978.

Early employee Bob Greenberg, pictured in the middle, won a free portrait after calling in to a radio show and guessing the name of an assassinated president. The gang reluctantly gathered together in some of their finest attire, and an American business legend was made.

We all know what happened with the two guys in the bottom left and bottom right corners — Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who both became billionaire philanthropists and tycoons. But what about the rest, many of whom became millionaires in their own right?

In the wake of Paul Allen's untimely death at age 65 in October 2018, we thought it would be a good time to take another look back.

This is an update of a post originally written by Jay Yarow in 2011.

Bill Gates is now giving away the billions he made from Microsoft

We all know what happened with this guy. Bill Gates founded and built Microsoft from nothing into the most valuable technology company in the world. Along the way, he became the second richest man in the world, and is now giving is fortune away to all kinds of good causes.

Andrea Lewis became a fiction writer and freelance journalist

Andrea Lewis was the only person at the company from Albuquerque. She was a technical writer for Microsoft, which means she wrote documents explaining Microsoft's software. She left Microsoft in 1983, eventually becoming a freelance journalist and fiction writer. She co-owns the Hugo House, a literary center in Seattle.

Maria Wood sued Microsoft just two years later

Maria Wood was a bookkeeper for Microsoft and married to another one of the early employees in the picture. She left the company just two years later, suing it over sex discrimination. Microsoft settled the case. After that, she vanished from the public eye, raising her children and volunteering for good causes.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider