$ cat ./records/bill-gatess-porsche-959-is-freed-after-13-years-in-us-customs-1999.txt
Bill Gates's Porsche 959 is freed after 13 years in US customs
[RECORD.TXT] · cat --full
Bill Gates so coveted the Porsche 959 — a 1980s technological tour de force — that he imported one to the United States even though it had never been crash-tested for U.S. roads. Customs impounded the car, and it sat in storage for roughly 13 years while Gates paid ongoing fees, unable to legally drive it. The standoff helped spur the 'Show or Display' law, enacted in 1999, which lets collectors import historically or technologically significant vehicles under mileage limits — finally freeing Gates's 959.
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Related Accomplishments
1990s
Gates keeps a collection of rare and classic cars
Despite his reputation for frugality in some areas, Bill Gates has long indulged a passion for cars, assembling a collection that has included several Porsches — among them the 911 he has owned for decades and the storied 959 — as well as other classics. His automotive tastes, and the saga of importing the then-illegal 959, are among the more colorful footnotes of his personal life.
1990s
Gates retreats for solitary, twice-yearly 'Think Weeks'
For years Bill Gates retreated twice a year to a secluded cabin for a solitary 'Think Week,' during which he read stacks of papers, books, and employee proposals with no interruptions, emerging with strategic memos that shaped Microsoft's direction. The ritual became famous as a model of deep, focused thinking by a busy executive, and was credited with helping spark major pivots — including Microsoft's embrace of the internet. Gates carried the habit of voracious, deliberate reading into his philanthropy.
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