• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

'Skills nobody can take': Meet a 20-year-old with a 4.5 GPA who skipped college for technical school to land an 'AI-proof' career

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

China suffers another setback in effort to de-dollarize global finance as anchor in the greenback's dominance quietly exits Beijing's payment scheme

1

'Skills nobody can take': Meet a 20-year-old with a 4.5 GPA who skipped college for technical school to land an 'AI-proof' career

2

Philanthropy leader at Warren Buffett and Bill Gates’ Giving Pledge says children of billionaires are pushing them to give their wealth away faster

3

China suffers another setback in effort to de-dollarize global finance as anchor in the greenback's dominance quietly exits Beijing's payment scheme

Video: Steve Jobs on the press and Apple’s stock price

By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Philip Elmer-DeWitt
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 9, 2014, 8:55 PM ET
Google source logo
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.


Icahn. Illustration: The Verge

FORTUNE — It’s not exactly on point, but reading Ben Popper’s piece on Carl Icahn in the Verge this weekend brought to mind a Steve Jobs Q&A from May 1997 — a few months after his return to Apple (AAPL) — when someone asked: “Steve, what do we do about the press?”

Jobs spoke for nearly two minutes before he got to the punch line:

‘The press and the stock price will take care of themselves.”

It’s fun watching Jobs tell the Apple development community — four years before the iPod and ten before the iPhone — to keep its eye on the prize: building great products.

Isn’t that what Tim Cook’s been saying since 2011?

Popper’s Icahn piece is also fun, and it helps move the Icahn v. Cook story forward:

  • It reminds us where Icahn got his billions (e.g. the looting and subsequent bankruptcy of TWA).
  • It explains what’s different — and what’s not — about Icahn’s accelerated stock buyback scheme.
  • It has launched a lively debate in the Verge’s comment stream around the proposition — put forward by a Verge reader — that “the fundamental purpose” of a public company like Apple “is to provide risk adjusted returns to its owners.”

That would be the position of a “shareholder activist,” which is what Carl Icahn calls himself these days.

The attached 2-minute video clip is taken from a 6:30 minute excerpt I posted a couple years ago. If you want the full one-hour WWDC presentation, it’s available here.

LINK: Carl Icahn 2.0: an icon of ’80s greed is back to shake up Silicon Valley

About the Author
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in


Most Popular

Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

    Latest in


    Most Popular

    © 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
    FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.