I learned from someone who did public relations for Bill and Melinda Gates that they often hear stories of the form, “So I heard from a friend of a friend that their cousin’s hairdresser’s former high school classmate helped out a person who was in a bit of a jam, and the person thanked them and asked for their name. They thought nothing of it, but a week later, they received an expensive thank-you gift. It turns out the person they helped was Bill Gates.”<\/p>\n
The story takes many forms. The assistance might be helping to change a flat tire, or paying for his takeout food order after he found himself a bit short of change. And the thank-you gift might be a new car or a paid-off mortgage. The details vary from telling to telling, but the basic shape is the same.<\/p>\n
The media person explained, “Whenever somebody tells a story like that, I just say, ‘That sounds like a fun story.’ If it’s true, you don’t want to confirm it, because everybody will expect to get an expensive thank-you gift. And if it’s not true, you just ruined somebody’s fun story.”<\/p>\n
They added, “I enjoyed hearing these stories because it gave me insight into what people think about Bill.”<\/p>\n
Happy birthday, Bill. Don’t believe all the stories you hear about me.<\/p>\n