Steve Jobs had just come back to Apple Computer (as it was known then) and the company was almost out of cash. Bill Gates not only infused the company with $150 million but he also pledged that Microsoft would supply MacIntosh versions of Microsoft Office for at least 5-years.
This saved Apple from going out of business. The shares Gates received were market price and non-voting stock. Microsoft sold their stake in Apple in 2003 but if they had kept the stock it would be worth about $60 billion today.
Gates probably doesn't mind because he has so much money. And besides the reason he made the investment in Apple in the first place was to ward off Federal anti-trust lawsuits - which the investment in his competitor helped accomplish.
Yes, I remember his bailing out Apple in those days. That stock would have been worth at least that much. If only I had bought Apple at $15.00 A share then...
ReplyDeleteIf I'm honest with myself - if I had a time machine I wouldn't use it to kill baby Hitler - I'd use it to buy Apple stock 22-years ago.
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