Richard is one of the most down-to-earth tech-celebrities out there. He is easy to talk to on Twitter, or email, or snail mail. He is, IMHO, among the most important historical figures in the game industry.
The striking part was the repeated theme for each of his companies: He built a company and a team within. They had success and a subsequent buyout offer. He'd take the money and start a new company. But, his old team at the previous one really liked working with him. So, they'd all migrate over to the new company. He rinse-and-repeated this at least three times.