Michael Dell was part of the growth of personal computing in the eighties by creating the Dell computer Corporation which now goes by the name Dell Inc. He is ranked 27th richest in the world by Forbes, with a net worth of $27.2 billion as of April 2020.

 

  • Early Life

Michael Dell, a renowned entrepreneur, author, and founder as well as the chief executive officer of Dell Inc, was born on 23rd February 1965 in Houston, Texas. His father was a stockbroker and an orthodontist and his mother was a money manager. Two things inspired Dell more than anything; the first came to his parents and the second was business. Dell once confessed that he had craved computers as well as the stock market. At the early age of eight, he sat for a high school equivalency exam in the hope to venture into business. He did his schooling at Herod Elementary School in Houston, Texas

 

From a teenager, Dell kept doing several part-time jobs from where he would collect money to invest in precious metal and stocks business. At the age of 12, he operated a mail-order trading business for stamps and baseball cards and earned $2,000. At the age of 14, he received his first computer Apple II and studied details on how it worked and developed a knack for computers. During his studies at Memorial High School, he worked part-time as a marketing executive for the Houston Post and learned some precious selling strategies. He used to make cold calls and learned that the newlywed couples or newcomers in the area were easy-to-convert prospects. In a year, Dell managed to earn $18,000; back then it was quite an amount.

 

  • Dell Computers

Dell was still a student when he started a small business developing and upgrading personal computers. He eventually became a registered vendor so he could bid on contracts he knew that he would win because he didn’t have the running costs of a computer store.

 

At the start of 1984, Dell acted on the idea that a manufacturer selling personal computers directly had many advantages over the retail route that involved middlemen. Dell registered the company PC’s Ltd which was run from a condo, selling $70,000+ worth of PC’s and PC upgrades. In May of the same year, Dell was forced to relocate to bigger premises as well as incorporating the company to become Dell Computer Corporation. Dell employed less than ten people and the capital required to fund the new venture was only $1,000.

 

It was at the age of twenty-seven that Michael Dell became the youngest CEO to feature in Forbes Magazine’s list of top 500 corporations. In 1996 Dell launched the part of the online sales of his business and soon reached internet sales of $1 million per day! By 2001 Dell had earned the title of the largest creator of personal computers on the planet.

 

  • Awards and recognition

In 1989, at the age of 24, Dell got the “Entrepreneur of the Year” given by Inc. magazine. Worth magazine honored him with the “Top CEO in American Business”

 

In 2002, the University of Limerick awarded Dell with an Honorary Doctorate in Economic Science for his generous investment in Ireland and the local community for educational initiatives.

 

Financial World, Industry Week, and Chief Executive Magazines honored him with the “CEO of the Year”


He has been a member of the U.S. President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology besides working on the executive committee of the International Business Council, the governing board of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India, the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and the U.S. Business Council.

 

  • Philanthropic work

In 1999, Michael, along with Susan Dell, founded the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation through which they serve for the betterment of children and has already contributed over $530 million for developing urban communities in the United States and India by the year 2010.

 

He has also donated $65 million to the Dell Pediatric Research Institute, the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, and the Dell Children’s Medical Center. All three health organizations are associated with the University of Texas where he studied.

 

In 2012, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation committed $50 million for medical education. The Dell Medical School began enrolling students in 2016.

 

In 2014, he donated $1.8 million to the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.

 

In 2017, in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Dell, a Houston native, pledged $36 million to relief efforts.

 

In May 2017, Dell donated $1 billion to his foundation, which focuses on child poverty; it makes both impact investments and charitable donations.

 

In 2018 Dell Technologies returned to public markets through a complicated financial restructuring.

 

“There are a lot of things that go into creating success. I don’t like to do just the things I like to do. I like to do things that cause the company to succeed. I don’t spend a lot of time doing my favorite activities.” - Michael Dell

 

Picture Courtesy: Wikipedia

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