Ha ha ha it would be $700,000 today
But seriously you can't let yourself think this way.
Do you ever wonder how rich you’d be if you’d bought just a few of the biggest tech stocks in the world many years ago, and held onto them?
This story about Steve Jobs might make you feel better.
Because 39 years ago, after Jobs was squeezed out of Apple by John Sculley, a CEO he had recruited himself, he did something very emotional, even rash, in retrospect.
He sold all $130 million of Apple stock that he held—except for a single share so that he could continue to attend Apple shareholder meetings.
We have to do the math, because it’s astounding. Adjusting for stock splits, a share of Apple in 1985 was worth about 11 cents. Today? Roughly $244, as of the time of writing.
That suggests that Apple is now valued at about 2,318 times what it was in 1985. So, the $130 million of Apple stock that Jobs sold back then would be worth about$301 billion today.
Actually, it’s kind of striking that even that kind of accumulation would only be enough for Jobs to be the second-wealthiest person in the world—behind Elon Musk—if he were still alive today and had held onto the stock.
It’s a heck of a lot of money. But here’s the catch—and frankly, the inspiring thing.
It’s that Jobs didn’t just sit on the cash, of course.
Instead, he launched a new computer company, called NeXT, and also spent about $10 million to take a majority stake in the graphics division of Lucasfilm, a very little-known company at the time called Pixar. How did all that turn out?
Apple bought NeXT in 1997 for about $400 million—mainly because it needed the operating system NeXT had developed—and probably more importantly, brought Jobs back to Apple.
Meanwhile, Pixar created some of the most successful animated movies of all time, starting with Toy Story in 1995, and ultimately was acquired by Disney in 2006. The deal made Jobs the biggest Disney shareholder at the time, with about 7 percent of the company.
Here’s the most important part: It’s that if Jobs hadn’t sold his stock, made those deals, built those companies, and come back to Apple, it wouldn’t be worth anywhere near the $3.57 trillion it is today—if it even survived at all.
The reason is that Jobs’s second tour at Apple was much more successful than his first. Under his leadership, Apple developed the iPod along with the company’s other music innovations, and eventually the iPhone and the iPad.
Jobs also recruited Tim Cook and put together a fool-proof succession plan so that when he could no longer run the company, Cook was able to step in.
I’ve certainly played the “torture myself with investments I didn’t make” game at different times. I had a small windfall of about $6,000 in 2007 and thought for a brief second of putting the whole thing into Amazon.
Had I done that, it would be worth about $700,000 today. I could probably find a good use for that kind of money.
But much like Jobs (albeit on a smaller scale), you can’t think that way without also considering the road you wouldn’t have been able to take if you’d made that choice.
In my case, I’m very happy with my life—both the personal choices I’ve made and the business and professional opportunities I’ve had.
In the end, I think Jobs would have agreed. And I think it’s inspiring, even if you’re not particularly interested in business.
Don’t just sit on what you’ve got. Stand up, double down, and go build something insanely great.
7 other things worth knowing today
Four of New York Mayor Eric Adams’ deputies resigned amid the fallout over the Justice Department’s move to dismiss corruption charges against him last week and his cooperation with the Trump administration on immigration matters. Hours later, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that she would be meeting Tuesday with "key leaders" to discuss a "path forward" to ensure stability for New York City. In a statement, she also addressed the governor's constitutional power to remove a mayor. (NBC News)
The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration left her job this weekend after a clash with billionaire Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service over its attempts to access sensitive government records, three people familiar with her departure said Monday. Michelle King, who spent several decades at the agency before being named its acting commissioner last month, left her position Sunday after the disagreement, the people said. (Washington Post)
A total of 18 people were injured after a Delta Airlines plane crashed on the runway at Pearson International Airport in Toronto on Monday afternoon. Images from the scene show the plane, a Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR, on its roof on the tarmac at Pearson. Flights in and out of the airport resumed at 5 p.m. (CTV News)
Listings in the Washington, D.C. housing market are surging and prices are being slashed, as the efforts of Donald Trump and Elon Musk to shrink the size of the U.S. federal workforce leave employees uncertain about their future. (Newsweek)
A lobe of the polar vortex, a ring of freezing air typically found near the North Pole, will once again move into the central and eastern states this week, bringing some of the coldest air of the winter season so far — and even helping fuel yet another winter storm in coming days. About 60 million people are expected to experience subzero temperatures across the United States, from Montana to Maine and as far south as Oklahoma. (Washington Post)
“Jan. 6 Rioters Argue Pardons Apply to Charges Including Murder Plot, Child Porn: Defendants argue that Trump pardons should absolve them of additional crimes, some discovered during investigations of the Capitol riot.” (WSJ)
Southwest Airlines plans to cut 15 percent of its corporate workforce in a bid to cut costs. The layoffs - a first in the airline's 53-year history - will slash around about 1,750 jobs. (Daily Mail)
Thanks for reading. Photo by Matheus Cenali on Unsplash. I wrote about some of this before at Inc.com. See you in the comments!
I've got Think DIfferent pictures all over my office. I only ever wanted to create things that were insanely great (I worked for Apple in the 1980s.) The insanely great attitude stayed with me after leaving Apple. I've don't have a Google or a Microsoft to show for it - but I think everything we did made the world a better place. I count my blessings - one of which is not being too $$ rich -- and one of which is having a great, healthy family and friends. One of my favorite party anecdotes is "Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and I were born in 1955. I'm the only one who graduated. What's wrong with that picture?" Haha!
Don’t just sit on what you’ve got. Stand up, double down, and go build something insanely great. Love that quote!!! Yes who hasn't had a 'would've, could've, should've' in their life?? It's not a good rabbit hole to go down, but people do it that's for sure. To your point, its important to remember that if chosen a different path or did something different, your life would be different somehow - but what is that somehow? Who knows? Anyway, always a joy to read. The 7 things..makes me feel more in the loop of life as many things you post in that section, I didn't know.