This is idiotic.

Faced with a serious employee morale problem and options under water, Steve took action to get his employees motivated.

I can't say that said action was essential, but it's hard to see Apple being where they are now if they'd hemorrhaged key staff during bad times.

And in personal terms, there is no difference between having $2Bn and $13Bn in your back pocket. Unless you're convinced you need a third personal Airbus A380 super-jumbo VIP transport, or a dozen extra castles, or something on a similar batshit scale, the diminishing marginal utility of money makes it all moot after the first billion.

I can see the value for a corporation in keeping more than a billion dollars in capital and assets, but not for a single person. I imagine this is why Bill Gates started giving tons of money to charities. At that level (billions, plural), what use could it possibly serve other than to pile it all in cash and gaze balefully down from your cash-throne at the peasants beneath you?

To the OP: Why is this a dumb trade? He should have somehow known his options would be worth more in 7 years' time? Had he been able to assuredly predict the future of AAPL (or any stock, for that matter), he'd be a hell of a lot richer than $13 billion.

I don't see what that has to do Job's decision. The board offered this to every employee individually. Steve could take it or leave it without affecting anybody else.

Seems to me like he was hedging.

Does he really feel a difference between 2.5B and 13B?

<reddit> My grand grand parents were the dumbest p ever. They sold an estate that has been today found to contain worlds greatest reserve of gold/diamonds/whatever.

They had to be the lamest grand grand parents ever </reddit>

If anything this has to be the dumbest commentary ever. Please, please delete this from HN.

Once you reach the $1 billion mark not much of what you did can be safely categorized as "dumb."

Which is exactly why heirs are cursed with such wealth.

Well, that tells me that even Steve didn't think that Apple was going to make it.

This is similar to insider's selling in bulk when they themselves are not sure of the future of the company.

Have you ever played with stakes that large? I don't think you can hold a little private self doubt against anyone in that situation.

I don't think Steve Jobs really cares a whole lot about money, anyway.

More like "hindsight is 20/20"...

Say he kept them, apple tanked and he lost everything, now that would have been dumb.

He lost $10.3bn, and I haven't. Therefore, I am more financially savvy than he!

("Think of the money you'd save if you didn't need money" - Lorraine Bowen.)

This is why the British instituted a "hut tax" in their African colonies. Otherwise, the native population had no reason to go work in the mines!

He didn't really lose $10.3bn, he lost the opportunity to make it. These were options, not actual money or stock.

I'm sure he feels really dumb as he swims around in his Scrooge McDuck style swimming pool of gold coins

Bird in the hand, old chap--bird in the hand.

Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg should've listened to that advice?