Wall street journal but joined me for an exclusive interview. I talked to the head of the antideaf mags league, abeprosmham this morning. Following up on a letter i sent over the weekend apologizing for the use of the word crystal knox. It was a terrible word to have chosen. I, like many, have tried to nderstand the 20th century and the incomprehensible evil of the holocaust. It cant be explained even to try to explain it is questionable. Its wrong. Its evil. Now, i used the word because during the occupy of San Francisco by the occupy wall reet crowd, they broke the windows in the wells fargo bank, they marched up to our automobile strip on van ness avenue and broke all the windows in all the luxury car dealerships. And i saw thats, irmed that the police just stood by frozen. And i thought, well, this is how crystal knox began. So that word was in my mind. I did, i dont necessarily need to read from this letter but if youre interested i can. Sure. Go ahead. Well, i deeply apologize the letter i wrote to the ant defamation league. I deeply apologize to you and any who have mistaken my reference to crystal knox as a signed of overt or latent ant semityism. This is not the case. My late partner eugene clite anywhere fled hitler from austria and fought in the u. S. Army. We became the deepest of friends during our Long Association and he taught me, quote, never imagine that the unimaginable cannot become real. He was never comfortable with the extreme political currents in america and never took our freedom from demonization for granted. I believe that he would have understood my wall street journal letter and would have agreed with the warning. And then i apologized for using crystal knock. I just said before. And i had a pleasant discussion with abe foxman just before i came here and i hope that at least that part is put to rest. So more than 90 jews were killed in kristallnacht. What were you going for . Analogy . The jews were only 1 of the german population. Most germans had never met a jew. And yet hitler was able to demonize the jews and that was one of the earlier manifestations. But there had been others before. And then of course we know about the evil of the holocaust. I guess my point was that when you start to use hatred against a minority, it can get out of control. I think that was my thought. And now that as the messenger i have been thoroughly killed by everybody, at least read the message. You know . You mentioned the word hatred. Yes. Do you feel threatened . I dont feel personally threatened. But i think that a very important part of america, namely the creative 1 , are threatened. Am friends with al gore, who tells me that inequality is the number one problem in america. I am friends with jerry brown, i voted for him, i will vote for him even though he raised my taxes 30 . He tells me the number one problem in america is inequality. And thats probably and possibly true. I think president obama is going to make that point tomorrow night. T the 1 are not causing the inequality. They are the job creators. I mean, Silicon Valley i think Kliner Perkins itself have created pretty close to 1 million jobs and were still doing it. Its absurd to demonize the rich for being rich and for doing what the rich do, which is get richer by creating opportunities for others. How do you feel threatened . Well, i said i didnt feel personally threatened. I feel, however, that as a class i think we are beginning to engage in class warfare. I think the rich as a class are threatened through higher taxes, higher regulation, and so forth. And so that is my message. If this is the kind of persecution that is happening to the 1 , whats happening to the 99 . Mean, i k the 99 i did not come originally from the 1 . Grew up as one of the 99 ers. And so im your classical selfmade man, if you will. I think the 99 is struggling and really struggling to get along in america. I mean, we have ever increasing regulation, higher costs, i think caused by more government than we need. Small businesses, difficult to form and prosper in a Small Business these days, difficult to hire. And that in my view is what is hurting and causing hurting the 99 and causing the inequality. O i think that the solution is less interference, lower taxes, let the rich do what the rich do, which is get richer, but along the way they bring everybody else with them when the system is working. Now, you are a multimillionaire. No. Im not a billionaire. Im a multimillionaire. Ive created some billionaires but i unfortunately am not one. You have owned fantsy yachts, fancy cars and underwater submersible. Airplane. Underwater i saw it. Its basically an airplane that flies underwater. Right. Do you worry at all that you are divorced from reality . Are you divorced from reality . I dont know if anybody can answer that. Truth thri, i dont think so. I give and have given and will give millions and millions of dollars to along with charities i have in mind some more chairs at universities to give. I still want to leave my children something that they can have. Even though upon my death the government will take about 45 . So yeah i think im connected to reality. Ive got lots and lots of friends that are younger and in is whole webbased twitterbased world. And i think i know what theyre thinking and talking about. Yeah. What about Silicon Valley . Is Silicon Valley to a certain extent divorced from reality . You have kids. You mentioned you created billionaires. You have kids making sixfigure salaries, getting preperks at technology companies, taking shuttles with wifi access down to the peninsula, which regular residents dont have access to. Is there something to be said for this idea that Silicon Valley really is living in its own little bubble . Yeah, i think theres something in that. On the other hand, its a bubble that has created that has changed the world, has created incredible wealth around america and around the world. And maybe touf put up with a little tech no geek arrogance in order to get the results of those sort of folks thinking. How do you see this divide playing out . The l, now that as messenger ive been shot, i think at least read the message. But you just said at the beginning of this that you regret the way that the message was i regret the use of that word. It was a terrible misjudgment. I dont regret the message at all. In fact, i what is the message . The message is any time the majority starts to demonize a minority, no matter what it is, its wrong. And dangerous. And no good ever comes from it. Whats the solution . First, to understand the problem. Be aware of it. Thats why i wrote the letter. And i dont apologize for writing the letter. I should not have used that awful word. But the letter said what i believe. And i believe we have to be careful that we dont demonize anybody and that we certainly dont demonize the most creative part of our society. Up next, ill ask tom perkins about the backlash he received from the firm he founded. Coming up. This is the best of bloomberg west. Kliner perkins has distnd itself from his founder saying he hasnt been involved in the firm in some time and they are shocked by his views and do not agree. I asked tom perkins if he understands why. Yeah. I first of all my letter was not about Kliner Perkins. I didnt mention Kliner Perkins at all. They didnt need to say anything. But they chose i guess to sort of throw me under the buss bus. And i didnt like that. They said they were shocked. And i sort of feel like the guy saying, look, dont go swimming theres sharks in that water. And if you get shocked by that you dont understand the warning. I was presenting a warning. And i dont think they got that. And then secondly, they made quite a point of my not having been involved for some years. And thats true. And i think, as ive distnd myself from the firm, theres been a corresponding decline in the firm. But i wont go further than that. In a way, i miss them. I hope they miss me. And we will bury the hatchet over this one. Your na is on the door. Yes. So when you say something, it does reflect on them to a certain extent. Or do you worry about it reflecting on them . Well, i didnt have them in mind when i wrote this piece and it wasnt about them. It had nothing to do with them. T theyre right that their philosophies and strategies have dwerged significantly from my own. And that my name on the door probably doesnt mean very much, if anything, any more. Do you think your name should still be on the door . Some people say it shouldnt after this op ed. I think thats a real issue for them to decide. I dont care whether it comes or goes. When you said that theres been a decline in their performance do you think if you still had been involved it would be different . That was implied by what i said but im not going to enlarge upon that. Lets talk about the solutions here. You mentioned your friends, eugene kliner. Right. He fled austria, fled hitler. Do you think he would have agreed with you . Oh, yes. I think he would have. Because i was not talking about the nazis, i was talking about the persecution of a minority by the majority. And kliner always distrusted those sorts of trends in american politics. Not in connection with semitism or ant semitism, but just in general. So i think he thoroughly would have understood my message and approved of it. You have conservatives out there like mark calling you the leading ahole in the state. Yes, he wasnt very nice and considering he doesnt know me and i dont know him. I dont think he is entitled to his opinion. If he knew me, perhaps. Paul crugman called me crazy. In todays New York Times. Paul crugman also pointed out that rising income inequality can have very negative commeck financial consequences in the sense that if there is if it leaves us more economically vulnerable and then the people who are rich cant pay for stuff then everyone suffers. Well, just what you said is such a contradiction of intermixed ideas. He won the noble prize in economics. I cant argue economics with him. But to demonize the job creators is crazy. And to demonize the rich who spend and buy things and timulate the economy is crazy. With d on the news hour the name escapes me. With the New York Times they got into a discussion about the i had i dont seey of roll ex watches and why does any man need a role ex watch. Its just a symbol of terrible values and et cetera. Well, i think thats a little silly. This isnt a role ex. I could buy a sixpack of roll exes for this. But so what . Danielle steel inspired tom perkins to speak out. Hell tell us why in part three of my interview. Next. Welcome back to the best of bloomberg west. In tom perkins original let tore the wall street journal he mentioned Danielle Steel saying shes been unfairly treated by the San Francisco chronical. He didnt mention she also happens to be his ex wife. I asked him if this letter is personal. Yes. I think the inspiration for writing the letter came from the most recent attacks by the San Francisco chronical on Danielle Steel. It all started with complaints about the height of the hedge around her house and then got into that she writes pot boilers and is a snob and so forth. And danielle and i are no longer married but were very close. I felt sorry for her. I felt she was being victimized. She is the number one author in the world over 1 billion books in print. Finally outdid Agatha Christie and she was awarded the french legion of honor for both literature and human taryn activities. None of that was reported in the chronical. So i thought since im a literal knight of the kingdom of norway i would get on my horse and charge forth in my defense. So we can see all the blood ive spilled in that process. You mentioned your watch, tom, and that it could buy a sixpack of roll exes. It was a gift from whats the brand of it . Kithes called a richard mille. And it was a gift from the preena company because i built big boats for them. You mentioned that you were from the 99 . I sure did. This is something that you never in a million years expected that you would one day be able to wear. Absolutely. Tell me mort about where you came from. Well, i am a nerd. A geek. I was went to white plains high school. Which in those days wasnt a particularly good high school. And it was very another letically oriented and i was not an athlete. And then i got a scholarship to mmp it with i became captain of the Swimming Team so i suddenly went from being a geek in a school of jocks to a jock in a school of nerds. So how quickly your life can change. So here we are decades later. Youve made millions, youve created billionaires, youve helped create billion dollar companies. What is the responsibility of those companies to the city of San Francisco . To the people who live in the city of San Francisco . I think were talking about the leadership of the companies. I dont like the idea of Companies Giving money to political campaigns. Even though its legal i dont like that. What about the policies that they create . Im not talking about ceos giving millions of dollars away. Im talking about the companies themselves. These are companies that offer free perks for example for their employees. Well, its a Competitive Industry and i dont know what they have to offer to get and keep the employees. But obviously free lunches keep people working during the lunch hour and so forth. O its not all just love and honey buns. But someone like mark says look i dont want to offer too many free things because i want my employees to spend their money on market street. I think thats a good sentiment. I dont disagree with that. But i think the leadership of these companies should be political and engaged in politics. Now, john my partner has been very political and deeply engaged with the obama administration. Hes been on various task forces and committees and i think thats great. I think politics is very, very very important. We cant ignore it. And we cant ignore the direction its going. I think the 99 across america should Pay Attention to politics, follow where its going, do read the newspapers. Dont try to get everything over twitter and facebook. Its not there. Nd worry about the future. Because right now i think america faces a very, very troubled future. I feel that we i sometimes feel at least that weve gone past the point of no return. I hope im wrong. Do you feel their frustration though . Absolutely. Of course i do. I have members of my own family that are living in trailer parks. Not my immediate family but relatives. Sure i do. Of course i do. You were called the king of Silicon Valley i believe at one point. How would you describe yourself . Oh, i certainly have enough arrogance to be royal. Old man. I look back upon my career with great happiness. I think ive accomplished a lot. If i had to do it again i dont know what i would change. And im at peace with myself. And the fact that everybody now hates me is part of the game and im sorry about that but that isnt what i meant to do. My interview with tom perkins, founder of Kliner Perkins cawfield. You can catch the full interview with your phone, tablet or bloomberg. Com. Up next, facebook is turning 10. Of l have behind the scenes the exclusive interview with founder and ceo Mark Zuckerberg. Welcome back. It is an exclusive story about the future of facebook. Bloomberg business week sat down with Mark Zuckerberg as facebook prepares to celebrate its tenth birthday. This says mark is turning 30 in may. I sat down with brad stone who conducted the interview to talk about his plans for facebooks future and his own selfreflections. Gone through a lot of selfreflection, he said. Not just the two anniversaries that you mentioned but also that its been ten years since his first date with his wife. He said he spent a lot of last fall typing up thoughts. On his phone of course. A couple things jumped out to me being surprising. One, theyre talking a lot about this today. A new kind of mobile strategy. They put obviously over the first decade a lot of emphasis on the social network. Going forward theyve introduced this initiative called Facebook Creative lab. Theyre going to be doing more aps. A news reader called paper. But he wants to be more flexible about the way people use facebooks products. So is it like a twist on flipboard . Of course i mentioned that as well and they dont want to consider it a clone. It has some unique features. Theyre doing interesting things with it. But very much like flipboard. Visually interesting. We can consider it to be a news reader like flip board. Also another way to consume the Facebook News feed but without the clutter on your phone. Theyre going to be doing more standalone aps dofment you have to use your facebook login . That was the second almost larger point that jumped out at me in talking to mark. For the first decade there was so much emphasis on real identity. And they kind of watched as rival Services Like twitter and snap chat got a lot of momentum allowing users to use sued nims not their real identities. So they acquired very successful insta gram. So mark was very passionate and actually once told an author, David Kirk Patrick that being anonymous on line was sort of a form of dupe policety seemed a lot more flexible. So something also hes considering as facebook turns ten. And other Services Like snap chat, you dont have to log in with your real identity. Right. So Going Forward, if facebook is doing more of these aps, some of them wont even be branded facebook. Some you could log on to anonymously. It basically a different strategy for a new platform showing a lot more flex combribblet around some of the orthodox use that they had in the past. One thing jumped out. He said its important for me because im a really critical person i kind of see how i want things to be better and im generally not happy with how things are or the level of service or the quality of teams that we build. Everyone is their own worst critic but you dont normally hear a ceo