|
Michael Dell is the founder of the computer company, Dell Inc. He created one
of the most profitable computer companies in the world with annual sales of up to
50 billion American dollars and has become one of the wealthiest people in the
world.
Michael Saul Dell was born on 23rd of February, 1965 in Houston. The son of
an orthodontist, Dell attended Herod Elementary School in Houston, Texas. Dell later
attended Memorial High School in Houston where he did not excel scholastically.
During that time he did, however, exhibit formidable business instincts. At the age
of twelve, he formed a direct marketing company which offered a national stamp
auction through the mail. That venture earned him $2,000. At the age of sixteen, Dell
developed a scheme to sell newspaper subscriptions through target marketing. With the
$18,000 he earned, he bought himself a BMW.
In 1984, nineteen-year-old University of Texas freshman Michael Dell started
a company called PC's Limited after getting a loan of $1,000 from his grandparents.
Dell came up with the idea of selling custom-made computers directly to customers.
He reasoned that the prices could also be kept much lower than other competitors
since there were no stores to maintain or middlemen to pay commissions to. He
sold the computers direct to the customer with the use of order forms, phone orders
and now Internet orders. When his business started booming, Dell quit college to
concentrate on his business.
In 1988 PC's Limited had a name change to Dell Computer Corporation. At that time,
the company was valued at about $80 million. By 1992, at the age of twenty seven,
Dell became the youngest CEO of a Fortune 500 company in history. The Fortune
magazine named his company one of the most admired firms in America, after
General Electric, Coca-Cola, and Microsoft. The company continued to grow and
expand dramatically year after year and eventually became the top computer -- selling
company in the United States of America, beating Compaq Dell Computer Corporation
later became Dell Inc. as the company moved into other areas of business. Its products
include home entertainment systems and personal devices.
In March 2004, Dell stepped down as CEO of Dell but stayed on as chairman of
the board. However, in January 2007, Michael Dell returned as CEO of Dell. Because
of his entrepreneurship, Dell received many accolades including "Entrepreneur of
the Year" from Inc. Magazine; "Man of the Year" from PC Magazine; "Top CEO in
American Business" from Worth Magazine and "CEO of the Year" from Financial
World and Industry Week magazines.
Dell currently resides with his wife, Susan and four children in Austin, Texas.
Dell is also well-known for his philanthropy. In 2006, University of Texas in Austin
announced a US$50 million grant from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation to
bring excellence in children's health and education in Austin. The grant enabled the
construction of the Dell Pediatric Research institute, a new computer science building
and a centre for advancement of healthy living. |
