How Steve Jobs Blew $10.3 Billion On "The Dumbest Trade Ever"

Re:How Steve Jobs Blew $10.3 Billion On "The Dumbest Trade E... by cstross on Tuesday May 18, 2010 @10:43AM (#1357590)

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.

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Re:How Steve Jobs Blew $10.3 Billion On "The Dumbest Trade E... by pixelbath on Tuesday May 18, 2010 @11:22AM (#1357746)

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.

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Re:How Steve Jobs Blew $10.3 Billion On "The Dumbest Trade E... by kyteland on Tuesday May 18, 2010 @11:10AM (#1357699)

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.

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