Although we hear different versions about this problem, no one truly knows if Bill Gates does own apple , either is right or wrong, back in 1997, when Apple had a crisis, Microsoft bought 150 million shares of stock in Apple, and in return Apple would make IE the default browser and Microsoft will go along with doing Office. Along with the stock exchange, they started to collaborate on technology to ensure the proper functionality of their machines which reduced people to this single question does bill gates own apple computers? In my opinion no, he doesn't, they just like to play a little marketing game, in which both sides are winning, but along the road they have to show some loses so that the public can have separated opinions, that can resume to different choices, and in the end can create the result needed.
Even with that, knowing or not knowing about their relationship, Microsoft and Apple still remain the leading giants of the computer market, doing their job, improving computers, regardless of opinions and questions like the one which we confront : does bill gates own apple computers? Back in 1985 Gates and Jobs, stood together and announced the release of Microsoft Excel. More than 20 years from then Bill Gates states the following : Microsoft has millions of customers who rely on Macintosh technology and they can be assured that Microsoft products for the Mac will continue to be available."
So you see, it is not a matter of who has stocks, or who owns Apple, they work for many years together, helping each other with different problems, either they are computer or management ones, letting mass-media to draw as many conclusions as they can, while their machines are getting better, their profits are getting bigger, and their confidence stronger. No matter if Bill Gates own Apple computers or not, people will buy both Microsoft and Mac products, not because Bill Gates owns them, but just because their good, or if not the best!