TRILLION DOLLAR APPLE
Steve Jobs’s daughter says he was still cruel on his deathbed Tech giant that was set up by two college dropouts beats Amazon in race to hit milestone valuation
APPLE last night became the first public company in history to be worth one trillion dollars – beating rivals Amazon and Google to the landmark.
The US technology company’s shares hit a record $207.39 (€179), with its value soaring almost 50,000% since it floated on the stock market in 1980.
It is an extraordinary achievement for a firm that appeared to be on the brink of going bust just over 20 years ago.
The company has clawed its way back to immense success, first with the iPod music player, and then the iPhone – Apple’s most popular device. Apple smartphones can now be found in the pockets of hundreds of millions of people across the globe.
The company is also behind the iPad, Macbook computer, Apple Watch and the ‘Siri’ digital assistant.
Experts said the firm is expected to continue growing.
US technology analyst Dan Ives said: ‘I think it just speaks to just how powerful the Apple ecosystem has become over the last few decades.
‘I view this as just kind of speaking to a new stage of growth and profitability.’
Among those to profit from Apple’s mammoth value are the family of the company’s late founder, Steve Jobs.
When he died in 2011, Mr Jobs left 5.5million Apple shares to his wife, Laurene Powell Jobs.
The shares are now worth $1.14billion (€980million). The landmark pricing places the company on par with the economy of South Korea, which is $1.13trillion.
Its value is also equivalent to the economies of Sweden and Norway combined. Amazon is the world’s second most valuable company at $885billion (€764billion), with Google owner Alphabet third at $854billion (€737billion).
Apple was founded in 1976 by college dropouts Mr Jobs and Steve Wozniak.
The pair wanted to create a computer that was small enough to be used in homes and offices, and soon built their first, the Apple I, in Mr Jobs’s garage.
It was originally sold without a screen, keyboard or casing but this was later added.
They followed it up with the Apple II and in 1980 the company listed on the stock market, with shares selling for $22 each.
Mr Wozniak left the company in 1983 and Mr Jobs departed in 1985 following a row with Apple president John Sculley.
As Apple battled with Microsoft in the 1990s, it asked Mr Jobs to return as its boss.
He overhauled Apple’s computer products and introduced a personal laptop called the iBook.
He also led the creation of the iPod music device and iTunes, which allowed people to buy songs and albums.
On January 9, 2007, Mr Jobs took to a convention stage in San Francisco and claimed Apple was going to ‘reinvent the phone’.
He unveiled the first iPhone – and since then Apple has launched 13 more versions of it, selling more than one billion of the handsets.
The company’s rise was also reflected in the stock market, surpassing oil firm Exxonmobil to become the world’s most valuable business in August 2011.
The firm is expected to keep on growing