When you think about Apple, the first people that come to mind are likely the late Steve Jobs or current CEO Tim Cook.
Not really surprising considering that both of them have been instrumental in the corporation’s enduring success. You should be thanking another important figure for the Apple gadgets you have today though.
His name is Mike Markkula.
The Angel Investor
Markkula is an electrical engineer who has worked at both Intel and Semiconductor. He was so good at his job that he secured a comfortable retirement at just the age of 32 years old in 1974 thanks to stock options he acquired at work.
He didn’t get to enjoy his retirement though as he soon met Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who were then trying to find funding for the second Apple computer.
Equipped with his knowledge of the industry and intrigue for the duo’s product, Markkula went back to work to help Jobs and Wozniak make Apple a proper company.
Markkula not only served as an angel investor to the company but was also hands-on when it came to guiding the co-founders in creating a business plan for Apple. He ended up investing $250,000 to get things off the ground.
More than Money
Although many of today’s Apple users have never heard of him before, Markkula performed an important role during the company’s early years.
In fact, Wozniak himself believes that the investor deserves more credit for Apple’s success than him. That’s saying a lot since Wozniak was the one to design the first two Apple computers.
It was Markkula who made it possible for the then-unknown company to get venture capital investments. He was also the one who brought in Michael Scott as their first CEO and president.
Markkula then served as Apple’s second CEO from 1981 to 1983. He chaired the company’s board of directors until 1997.
Ultimate Payoff
About 20 years since he came out of his early retirement, Markkula left Apple an accomplished and wealthy man.
The risk he took initially certainly paid off big time. By the end of his tenure at the now-giant corporation, Markkula’s investment had grown exponentially.
In fact, the initial capital he put into Apple grew 220,552% just a mere four years since he invested it. Today, Markkula boasts of having a net worth of $1.2 billion.
