It’s 1998 and you’re Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. You’re the richest man in the world with a net worth of $51bn. Things are going great… until a pie ruins your day.
In Belgium, while visiting EU officials, Gates was hit in the face with a cream pie—note the space—at the entrance of a government building.
The prankster escaped, but one accomplice and a cameraman were taken into custody and later released after Belgian prankster Noel Godin appeared on television to take responsibility for the attack.
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Godin, a fun-loving anarchist, has made a name for himself targeting the rich, famous, and pompous with cream pies. His exploits have become so renowned that a French word has been coined to describe the act of being creamed: entarter.
Perhaps one of the most famous men in the French-speaking world, Godin himself is called “L’entarteur,” or “the Pieman.” He often appears on TV shows and films and is an author of a book about his exploits.
Those who take Godin’s public creamings with good humor are never bothered again. However, L’entarteur has been known to repeatedly target people who react with ill humor to his antics, what he calls the “revolt of laughter.”
Gates didn’t press charges and even made a joke about the incident, claiming the cream didn’t even taste that good. Who wants to be a billionaire? I don’t!