Conspicuous consumption has never come easy to William H. Gates, the chairman and chief executive of the Microsoft Corporation. But these days the mantle of world's richest man seems to be resting easier on his shoulders. Earlier this month, Mr. Gates broke down and bought himself a $21 million private jet.
For years, even as his wealth ballooned to its current level near $40 billion, Mr. Gates was known for flying coach. His preference on long trips was to throw a blanket over his head and sleep.
Microsoft employees are still restricted from flying first class and can upgrade to business class only on international flights. That is apparently why Mr. Gates, who will turn 42 tomorrow, bought the plane himself, rather than have Microsoft pay for it.
''He is flying so much it really does make sense, but he doesn't think the company should be paying for it,'' said Pam Edstrom, a spokeswoman.
Not that anyone would fault Microsoft for buying the boss a plane. After being denounced as corporate frills in the early 1990's, when many large companies were laying off thousands of workers, corporate jets are back. Manufacturers have a long backlog of orders, and last year both Boeing and Airbus Industrie announced plans to convert their smallest commercial jets into business jets. Boeing's model is a modified 737 and costs $40 million. The company already has orders for 25 of the jets.
