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-X-

Medium-sized Lebowski
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The Dude
It can’t be worse than Ronald Wayne’s worst day. On April 12, 1976 Ronald Wayne sold his ten percent stake in Apple for $800, and today it's worth $58,065,210,000. (That’s Fifty-eight billion, sixty-five million, two-hundred and ten thousand dollars).

How this guy never his head in an oven is beyond me.
 

Prime Time

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https://www.facebook.com/RonGWayne/posts/370073493010333


Ron Wayne

February 22, 2012 ·
Why I Left Apple Computer After Only 12 Days, In My Own Words
An Essay by Ronald G. Wayne


I didn’t separate myself from Apple because of any lack of enthusiasm for the concept of computer products. Aside from any immediate apprehension in regard to financial risks, I left because I didn’t feel that this new enterprise would be the working environment that I saw for myself, essentially for the rest of my days. I had every belief it would be successful but I didn’t know when, what I’d have to give up or sacrifice to get there, or how long it would take to achieve that success.

In addition to my rather mundane daily activities during my time as an Apple Co-founder—a full time job at Atari working for Al Acorn and directly answerable to Nolan Bushnell as Atari’s International Field Service engineer—I was writing my treatise on the true nature of money, Insolence of Office.

At the time I was earning $22,000 a year—$88,000 a year in today’s money—we’ve had at least 400% inflation since that time. The Dow Jones had just broken a thousand points. Something Steve Jobs and I had discussed many times—Jobs had asked me if I had thought the Dow Jones would ever break a thousand points. I told him that it would break 1,000, then 5,000 thousand, and at some point in the future, 10,000 points. These types of conversations were typical of those Jobs and I would have over lunch at some of the local diners surrounding Los Gatos, during our time together at Atari.

To counter much that has been written in the press about me as of late, I didn't lose out on billions of dollars. That's a long stretch between 1976 and 2012. Apple went through a lot of hard times and many thought Apple would simply go out of business at various times in its maturity. I perhaps lost tens of millions of dollars. And quite honestly, between just you and me, it was character building.

If I had known it would make 300 people millionaires in only four years, I would have stayed those four years. And then I still would have walked away. Steve and Steve had their project. They wanted to change the world in their way. I wanted to change the world in my own.

My book Insolence of Office is the result of 40 years of research.

We’ve had a 2500% increase in inflation since the end of World War II. The $2,300—$800 and then later, another $1500—I received from Apple Inc. in 1976 would be roughly the same as $9,200 today. I’m sure you would agree with me that's not bad pay for only 12 days worth of work. However, that increase of inflation is something I predicted decades ago and the driving factors behind that inflation is something I discuss in great detail in my book.

I'm sure I've mentioned this to you before, as a belief that I truly hold (and I know this sounds arrogant as hell), but the writing and publication of Insolence is, in itself, enough to justify my existence on this planet.
 

-X-

Medium-sized Lebowski
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The Dude
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Yeah, I don't know about all that Ron. I've made $10K for 2 weeks worth of work, but would be MUCH happier with several billion instead.
That said, I guess as long as he's happy that's the only thing that matters.
Always.
 

Athos

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I need a flux capacitor. So I can go back in time and invest in Apple and Facebook.

And live a career of banging smokin' hot chics and paying off Usher to never invent Bieber.
 

Memento

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Sorry. I don't feel bad for the guy at all. He made his choice, and he has a pretty good life.

Is he homeless? Has he faced starvation? Has he been treated like a subhuman by a government, police, and every authority he knows? Does he suffer from mental illness? Has he ever been discriminated against and ostracized from jobs? Does he have a family who hates him just for existing and treats him more like a burden than anything else? Is he facing a possible institutionalization for the rest of his life? Or is he facing any worse problem than any of those things?

Until even one of those things happens to him, I'll never feel bad for him and others born with a silver spoon in their mouth, who never had to really work a day in their life just to get the necessities of life.
 

Dieter the Brock

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the dude is a cool guy, he
Until even one of those things happens to him, I'll never feel bad for him and others born with a silver spoon in their mouth, who never had to really work a day in their life just to get the necessities of life.

Schadenfreude

not sure where the silver spoon thing came from.... was he somehow born rich? did i miss that - or is he just one of the millions of Americans who are or have tried to take advantage of the American Dream. It still does exist. The ability to make millions of dollars here in the USA.

Honestly, personally, I feel bad for the guy. Sounds like he missed out on the golden goose

This from Wikipedia
"Wayne, now retired and living a quiet lifestyle in a Pahrump, Nevada, mobile home park"

Doesn't sound so like anything you describe above......
 

Dodgersrf

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Apparently I had a very bad day that day as well.
I had 40 dollars of lawn mowing money in my room at the time. I could have bought some of his stock.
That 40 dollars could have made me 100s of millions.
 

jrry32

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Eh, money is nice but if he feels happy and accomplished with his life, that's worth it. I'd rather be a happy and satisfied man with mediocre income than a miserable rich man. Life is too short to fixate on money. Do what brings you joy and happiness. Laugh a lot. Get all you can out of life because that money will do you no good when you're dead.
 

RaminExile

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It can’t be worse than Ronald Wayne’s worst day. On April 12, 1976 Ronald Wayne sold his ten percent stake in Apple for $800, and today it's worth $58,065,210,000. (That’s Fifty-eight billion, sixty-five million, two-hundred and ten thousand dollars).

How this guy never his head in an oven is beyond me.

Kind of reminds me of Donald Sutherland turning down a percentage for his part (about two minutes - they filmed it in one afternoon at Orgeon State I think as a favour for a friend) in National Lampoon's Animal House. Apparently he read the script and just thought the whole thing was a waste of time. He later recalled it lost him about $20 million...
 

-X-

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The Dude
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I'd rather be a happy and satisfied man with mediocre income than a miserable rich man.
That's assuming those are your only choices. :cautious:
Personally, I'd rather be a happy and satisfied man with filthy income than a miserable guy scraping by.
 

RaminExile

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Eh, money is nice but if he feels happy and accomplished with his life, that's worth it. I'd rather be a happy and satisfied man with mediocre income than a miserable rich man. Life is too short to fixate on money. Do what brings you joy and happiness. Laugh a lot. Get all you can out of life because that money will do you no good when you're dead.

Well yeah - of course. But what about being happy, satisfied with a great family and a wonderful life AND $50 billion dollars in the bank? I think I'd be happier and I'd be able to help more people than I can right now.

I am a very fortunate man. I am blessed in what I do for a job and the money I make. I give what I can (I can give more, and I'm often sorry I don't - but I have this irrational fear that one day I'll get found out for a fraud and lose it all so I don't) to help people less fortunate. In some ways - that's all it is. Luck. Lady fortune.
 

RaminExile

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That's assuming those are your only choices. :cautious:
Personally, I'd rather be a happy and satisfied man with filthy income than a miserable guy scraping by.

You're in the right of it X. Why cant you have both?
 

-X-

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You're in the right of it X. Why cant you have both?
You can. There's this idea that extremely wealthy people aren't happy, or that money doesn't necessarily "buy" happiness, but that's not entirely true. I know some people who have obscene money and they're pretty damn happy every time I see them. lol. I think those people who squander away their lottery winnings and end up miserable are a misrepresentation of that idea. Those people are just dumb and/or should have sought some financial counseling at some point.

The dude in the OP though, he doesn't seem to need the money to be happy.
And good for him. I don't need it either, but it sure affords me the luxury of doing stuff I wouldn't otherwise be able to do.
And that makes me happy. :)
 

Angry Ram

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Wonder how he was feeling during the 90s....

220px-Applenewton_emate300.jpg
 

jrry32

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That's assuming those are your only choices. :cautious:
Personally, I'd rather be a happy and satisfied man with filthy income than a miserable guy scraping by.

From the way he explains it, that sounds like the choice. He makes it sound like he wasn't happy with Apple and didn't want to work there for the foreseeable future. If that's the case, do what makes you happy.
 

VegasRam

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ROD has a member lives in Pahrump.
I could live there - it's a cool place. Not for everyone though.

X- I used to sell drugs too , but straightened my life out.
 

-X-

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X- I used to sell drugs too , but straightened my life out.
Heh. That's how I amassed my hundreds in the early 90's too.
Not all that lucrative a venture when you get high on your own supply.
I can tell ya that with the utmost certainty. :snicker:
 

VegasRam

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Sorry. I don't feel bad for the guy at all. He made his choice, and he has a pretty good life.

Is he homeless? Has he faced starvation? Has he been treated like a subhuman by a government, police, and every authority he knows? Does he suffer from mental illness? Has he ever been discriminated against and ostracized from jobs? Does he have a family who hates him just for existing and treats him more like a burden than anything else? Is he facing a possible institutionalization for the rest of his life? Or is he facing any worse problem than any of those things?

Until even one of those things happens to him, I'll never feel bad for him and others born with a silver spoon in their mouth, who never had to really work a day in their life just to get the necessities of life.

Damn dude! Where's your compassion?

Is your dog named Panza?
 

VegasRam

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Heh. That's how I amassed my hundreds in the early 90's too.
Not all that lucrative a venture when you get high on your own supply.
I can tell ya that with the utmost certainty. :snicker:

Word. But it was fun. :banana:
 

DaveFan'51

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Having been a business man, let me just say, you always go in planning on the 'Long hall' not thinking, I'm going to bail out if things don't go right, right off the bat! No guts No go glory! I'd rather have the money when it's all said and done!
Money may not buy happiness, but thing can get real ugly when you don't have any!