Canonical is a 650-employee software company best known for its version of the Linux operating system. Now its rich-and-famous, daredevil founder, Mark Shuttleworth, is trying to re-create Canonical into the next Apple, knocking Google Android out along the way.
Shuttleworth made his money in 1999 when he sold his first company, Thawte, to VeriSign for a reported $570 million. He gained worldwide fame 2002 when he paid to fly into space with the Russian cosmonauts. (Rumor is, it cost him $20 million.)
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