Steve Jobs
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Comment by Paul on June 4th, 2014 at 7:13 pm
“Jobs brought Apple from near bankruptcy to profitability by 1998.”
Like many controversies surrounding the subject person, this statement is dubious. Apple Computer, Inc. was valued at approximately US$2bn before its former CEO returned as a consultant. The company then had approximately US$1.5bn in cash and subsequently spent US$400mn to acquire the former CEO’s company, NeXT. All the while the company had a negligible bank loan compared to its cash balance and no other debts maturing for years.
The reference to the biography was supplied to Wikipedia by this correspondent, who believes it is not correct though a board member is said in the biography to have asserted it. A US$2bn American stalwart technology company, with ample present and future liquidity being on the verge of financial collapse does not comport with the numbers and statements asserting the company’s liquidity position that the same board member signed off on. Both statements, the biography and that filed with US federal securities authorities, cannot be reconciled unless a substantial fraud was underway.
The oft said that the company was “90 days away from bankruptcy” can be traced back to a historic co-interview the CEO had with his counterpart from Microsoft, Inc.
Since the subject person is a source of controversy, please note that this is not meant to besmirch his character or detract from his significant accomplishments. It is merely to correct the record or strike out from it what is not factual.
For reference, all the company’s relevant documents for the period under discussion can be found on the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov.
Kind regards,
P.D.
Comment by Jennifer Tanabe on January 22nd, 2016 at 6:36 pm
Thank you, Paul, for your comment. Your point that the apparent near bankruptcy of Apple is unclear is well taken. That statement has been removed from the article.
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