Return to the Little Kingdom_ Steve Jobs and the Creation of Apple - Michael Moritz [145]
In the weeks before Apple went public, the telephones in Cupertino also started to ring with alarming frequency. Callers wanted to know where they could buy stock or when it would split again. Strangers lurked in computer stores that Wozniak was known to frequent, and both he and Jobs received calls from people they hadn’t talked to in years. School friends, distant cousins, and even the contractors who worked on their homes wondered whether they could lay their hands on a couple of shares. Other major Apple stockholders arranged private sales with British unit trusts and investment houses, Caribbean-based technology funds, the Hewlett-Packard pension fund, and with people who had either spotted Apple or maintained trading accounts with the underwriters. Some of the most persistent callers were professional investors who wanted to add Apple to the list of coups they had participated in over the last couple of decades. Charlie Finley, the controversial owner of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, arranged a sale with four officers despite Arthur Rock’s objections, and then sued because he was dissatisfied with the price. Some doctors, dentists, and lawyers who served Apple’s stockholders also managed to get their hands on a few shares. One Beverly Hills consultant bought shares, explaining that he was familiar with Apple because he had conducted “a workshop training the top management of the corporation in more effective communication skills.”
At brokerage offices the prospect of the offering produced a frenzy. One customer at a San Jose firm offered to open a $1 million account in exchange for 3,000 shares of Apple. Around the country brokers tossed their names into hats to get a couple of shares for their favorite clients. One Merrill Lynch analyst said, “Even my brother who invests in the stock market only on Tuesdays in leap years called to ask what I knew about Apple Computer.” An analyst with the Detroit Bank and Trust remarked, “It’s safe to say that everybody is going to be able to find some money to buy Apple stock.” Another observed the clamor and the news that a computer store intended to go public with the dry prediction that some owners of Apple IIs would soon try to issue shares. Apple employees found that the mere whisper of the company name brought clicks of attention. One youngster found stockbrokers hanging on his every word even though he still got carded when he entered a bar. Owning Apple stock, he decided, “was like having an American Express card made of platinum.”
The fever also served to accentuate the resentments and jealousies that had built up within Apple. Wozniak dreamed up his own scheme to try to correct the lopsided stock distribution. He decided to sell some of his own holdings to colleagues who had either not received what they deserved or were victims of broken promises. The Wozplan, as it quickly became known, touched off a small stampede. Almost three dozen people snapped up close to 80,000 shares which, according to documents, Wozniak offered at $7.50 apiece. In answer to the formal questions posed by the California Commissioner of Corporations, the buyers explained their circumstances and how they learned about the offer. William Budge, for example, disclosed: “The amount of the proposed investment is in excess of 10 percent of my net worth and annual income.” Jonathan Eddy revealed that his personal investment adviser urged him to buy. “She owns some herself.” A few, like Timothy Good, resorted to familiar jargon: “I have interfaced with several officers on a professional level.” Lewis Infeld said he had heard about the opportunity “from word of mouth within my working environment.” Others, like Wayne Rosing, were blunt. “I am single, have no debts and more than sufficient net worth and insurance to provide for my needs.” Meanwhile, Wozniak also sold another 25,000 shares to Stephen Vidovich, the developer of the DeAnza Racquet Club where Apple held a corporate membership: