This is how much Apple is now worth (and how they made such an eye-watering amount of money)
The tech company has reached a historic milestone
Back in sunny California in the mid-1970s, two Steves – Jobs and Wozniak – had dropped out of college. But together the historically brainy pair would go on to create some tech that would truly change the world forever… and some crafty ways of selling that tech to the masses.
Apple Computer Company was officially founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs in the garage of his childhood home in Los Altos, California. Here’s one of the company’s earliest inventions the Apple Macintosh, which debuted in 1984:
And that little computer business founded in a garage has now reached an eye-watering milestone, becoming the first ever company to be valued at more than $1trillion (£767bn).
According to the BBC, the iPhone maker’s market value reached the figure in New York on Thursday and its shares closed at a new record high of $207.39.
Apple beat out their Silicon Valley rivals such as Amazon and Microsoft to become the first to hit the $1 trillion valuation.
“It may have been the vision of Steve Jobs that hurtled Apple towards this milestone, but it was the business acumen of Tim Cook that tipped them over,” Dave Lee, North America technology reporter and analyst said.
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The company was first listed on the stock market in 1980 and since then it has risen in value by more than 50,000%.
Here are some of the tech highlights that paved the path for this astronomical valuation, according to Bloomberg:
2001: First iPod launched
2007: First iPhone launched
2010: First iPad launched
2011: Tim Cook takes over as CEO
2017: iPhone X launched
And to give you a flavour of the Apple business ethos, Redditor ‘wowbobwow’ recently shared a set of ‘rules for success’ presented to him by former Apple VP John ‘JB’ Brandon back in 2004, when the late Steve Jobs was at the helm of the company.
The 11 rules are as simple as they come, but have stayed with him for 14 years, during which time he has left Apple and gone onto new things.
Attached to the employee badge back in the early 2000s, the rules were as follows:
1. Let go of the old, make the most of the future
2. Always tell the truth, we want to hear the bad news sooner than later
3. The highest level of integrity is expected, when in doubt, ask
4. Learn to be a good businessperson, not just a good salesperson
5. Everyone sweeps the floor
6. Be professional in your style, speech and follow-up
7. Listen to the customer, they almost always get it
8. Create win/win relationships with our partners
9. Look out for each other, sharing information is a good thing
10. Don’t take yourself too seriously
11. Have fun, otherwise it’s not worth it
Great advice if you’re running a trillion dollar company or just living your regular old life.
(Images: Getty)
