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Michael Dell
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Michael Dell

Dell: founder,CEO, and chairman ofDell, Inc.
Born February 23, 1965 (1965-02-23) (age 44)
Houston, Texas,U.S.
Education Attended University of Texas, Austin, 1983–1984
OccupationCEO and founder,Dell, Inc.
Net worth ▲''$12.3 Billion (2009)[1]
Religious beliefsJewish
Spouse(s) Susan Dell
Children 4
Michael Saul Dell (born February 23, 1965, inHouston, Texas) is anAmerican multibillionaire businessman and the founder and CEO ofDell, Inc.
Contents
[hide]
1 Biography1.1 Early life and education
1.2 Career
2 Wealth and personal life2.1 Philanthropy
2.2 Political lobbying and contributions
2.3 MSD Capital
2.4 Feud with Steve Jobs and Apple
2.5 Expansion
2.6 Innovation
3 References
4 Bibliography
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life and education
Dell was born into a family which liberally practicedJudaism.[2] The son of anorthodontist[3] and a stockbroker, Dell attended Herod Elementary School inHouston, Texas.[4] Dell had his first encounter with a computer at the age of 15 when he broke down a brand newApple II computer and rebuilt it, just to see if he could. Dell attendedMemorial High Schoolin Houston where he did not excel academically. During that time he didhowever exhibit formidable business instincts selling subscriptions fortheHouston Post. Selling to newlyweds Dell made $18,000 and bought a car and three computers with it.[5][6]
[edit] Career
While at theUniversity of Texas at Austin, he started a computer company called PC's Limited in room 2713 of twenty-seven story residence hallDobie Center.[7].[8][clarification needed]The company became successful enough that, with the help of anadditional loan from his grandparents, Dell dropped out of theuniversity at the age of 19 to run PC's Limited, which later becameDell Computer Corporation, then ultimately Dell, Inc.
Over time, and despite a number of setbacks (including laptops thatcaught on fire in 1993, temporarily losing the consumer market toGatewayin the mid 1990s, and others), Dell survived the race to become themost profitable PC manufacturer in the world, with sales of $49 billionand profits of $3 billion in 2004. As Dell expanded its product line tomore than computers, shareholders voted to rename the corporationDell, Inc. in 2003.
On March 4, 2004, he stepped down asCEO of Dell but stayed as chairman of the board, whileKevin B. Rollins, then president andCOO, became president and CEO. On January 31, 2007, Dell returned asCEO, succeeding Kevin Rollins (who resigned earlier in the day).[9]
Accolades for Dell include: "Entrepreneur of the Year" fromInc. magazine; "Man of the Year" fromPC magazine; "Top CEO in American Business" fromWorth magazine; "CEO of the Year" fromFinancial World,Industry Week andChief Executive magazine. At a speech before theDetroit Economic Clubin November, 1999, Dell defined the "3 C's" of e-commerce (content,commerce, and community) while articulating his strategy for offering asuperior customer experience online.[10]
[edit] Wealth and personal life
As of 2009,Forbes estimates Dell's net worth at $12.3 billion.[1]
Dell currently resides inAustin, Texas with his wife, Susan, and their children,[11] Kira, Alexa, and fraternal twins Zachary and Juliette.[12]
[edit] Philanthropy
On May 15, 2006, TheUniversity of Texas at Austin announced a $50 million grant from theMichael and Susan Dell Foundationto "bring excellence in children's health and education to Austin". Thegrant will enable the construction of three new facilities at theuniversity. The first is theDell Pediatric Research Institute which is expected to complement the newDell Children's Medical Center nearby. The second is a new computer science building on the UT campus named Dell Computer Science Hall. The third is theMichael and Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, which is intended to address issues that affect healthy childhood development.[13]
In 2002, he received an Honorary Doctorate inEconomic Science from theUniversity of Limerick, in honor of his investment inIreland and the local community along with his support for educational initiatives.[14]
[edit] Political lobbying and contributions
In 2005, Susan and Michael Dell were among 53 entities that eachcontributed $250,000 (the maximum legal donation) to the secondinauguration of PresidentGeorge W. Bush.[15][16][17]
[edit] MSD Capital
In 1998, Michael Dell foundedMSD Capital LP,a private investment firm, to invest in various small companies onDell's behalf. According to reports, the firm tends to invest in "latestage" investments rather than early in a company's startup.
[edit] Feud with Steve Jobs and Apple
Michael Dell had a public war of words withApple, Inc. CEOSteve Jobs,starting when Jobs first criticized Dell for making "un-innovativebeige boxes". On October 6, 1997, when Michael Dell was asked what hewould do if he owned then-troubled Apple Computer, he said "I'd shut itdown and give the money back to the shareholders."[18]In the 2001 Apple special Media conference Jobs said "Michael Dell hassaid some discouraging things about us lately in public, but we're notgoing to engage in that sort of thing". In 2002, Dell's online storestarted selling Apple'siPod music players.[19] They stopped selling iPods in 2003, due to contract issues between Dell and Apple.[20] On January 13, 2006, Apple'smarket capitalization surpassed that ofDell.
[edit] Expansion
Michael Dell expressed his desire to expand Dell's market share in various countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC). To this,Vladmir Putin responded by saying, "We don't need help. We are not invalids."[21]
[edit] Innovation
Dell has often been accused of a failure to innovate, but he insiststhe commercialisation of new technology is still high on the company'sagenda. "Our global consumer business introduced double the number ofproducts in 2008 than in 2007," he said. But Dell refuses to be drawnon questions relating to the company's entry into the smartphonemarket. "Ask me again in six months", he toldDirector magazine in April, 2009.[22]
[edit] References
^abThe World's Billionaires 2009 - Forbes.com
^ William J. Holstein, Dell: one company, two CEO's, The Chief Executive, November 2003.
^Biography of Michael Dell
^History of Our School
^Direct From Dell 1999
^ "Conde Nast Portfolio Executive Profile".http://www.portfolio.com/resources/executive-profiles/12127.
^http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/corporate/speeches/msd/2003_05_17_msd_commencement.pdf
^http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/archive/0502dell.html
^Dell Chief Is Replaced by Founder,New York Times.
^ Dell, Michael. "Building a Competitive Advantage in an Internet Economy" (PDF).http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/corporate/speeches/msd/1999_11_01_msd_economy.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
^Biographical details and interview
^A Focus on Efficiency,The Chronicle, 4/6/2006.
^ Warden, Michael L. (2006). "Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Grants $50 Million to University of Texas to Bring Excellence in Children's Health and Education to Austin". The University of Texas System - Press Releases.http://www.utsystem.edu/news/2006/UTS-MSDFGrant05-15-06.htm. Retrieved 2006-05-18.
^http://www.ul.ie/main/news/dell.doc University of Limerick Press Release, 29 May 2002
^ Drinkard, Jim (2005-01-17). "Donors get good seats, great access this week". USA Today.http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-16-inauguration-donors_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
^ "Financing the inauguration". USA Today.http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-16-inaugural-donors_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
^ "Some question inaugural's multi-million price tag". USA Today. 2005-01-14.http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-14-price_x.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
^CNet
^CNet
^ "April 3, 2003: Resellers Stop Selling iPods". AppleMatters.com.http://www.applematters.com/article/april-3-2003-resellers-stop-selling-ipods/.
^http://ru.youtube.com/watch?v=qWwcVckT2Io Video
^Director magazine, April 2009
[edit] Bibliography
Michael, Dell; Catherine Fredman (1999). Direct From Dell: Strategies That Revolutionized an Industry. New York, New York: HarperColins Publishers.ISBN0-88-730914-3.
[hide]v • d • e
Dell, Inc.
Board of directorsDon Carty · Michael Dell ·William H. Gray ·Sallie Krawcheck ·Alan Lafley ·Judy Lewent ·Tom Luce ·Michael A. Miles ·Sam Nunn
ComputersAdamo ·OptiPlex ·Dimension ·Precision ·XPS ·Latitude ·Inspiron ·Inspiron Mini ·Vostro ·Studio
ServersPowerEdge ·PowerVault ·Dell/EMC
AcquisitionsAlienware ·Dell EqualLogic
RelatedMergers and acquisitions ·Axim ·Digital Jukebox (DJ) ·Monitors ·Dell Support Center
Annual Revenue: ▲$56.74 billionUSD (2006) · Employees: 90,400 (2006) · Stock Symbol:NASDAQDELL · Website:dell.com
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Dell"
Categories:1965 births |Living people |Dell |American businesspeople |American chief executives |American billionaires |American philanthropists |American Jews |People from Houston, Texas |University of Texas at Austin alumni |Texas Republicans