Chapter 406 Investor of the Year
The reason why Lin Haoran suddenly felt like selling his Apple shares was simple: he clearly understood that Apple's true explosion in value wouldn't occur until the 21st century.
Throughout the 1980s, Apple, despite its technological successes, struggled commercially.
It was similar to how some movies receive critical acclaim but flop at the box office — praised but unprofitable.
During this period, although Apple developed many impressive technologies and features, its sales performance kept declining.
Even Steve Jobs, the visionary founder, was eventually pushed out by Apple's board.
From the early 1980s to 1989, Apple's market cap only grew by about 199%, less than 200%.
Moving into the 1990s, Apple's stock price fell repeatedly, product launches struggled, and its market share continued to erode.
By 1997, nearly two decades after going public, Apple's market value was barely over ten billion dollars — merely a few times higher than its 1980 IPO value.
These were Apple's "lost years" — its lowest point.
It wasn't until Jobs returned and led Apple to launch revolutionary products that the company finally entered its true era of explosive growth, skyrocketing from just over $10 billion to more than $3 trillion over two decades, becoming the king of global stock markets.
What did this mean?
It meant that if Lin Haoran wanted to ride Apple's growth all the way to its future peak, he would have to wait thirty to forty years — and endure more than a decade of almost no gains!
In that case, holding onto his Apple shares long-term was a terrible investment from a cost-benefit perspective.
Far better to sell now, lock in a return of more than 20 times, and redeploy the capital elsewhere.
After all, two hundred million dollars — over a billion Hong Kong dollars — was a massive sum.
With that kind of money, Lin Haoran could invest across countless other opportunities over the next decade, compounding his wealth many times over.
Thus, continuing to hold onto his Apple shares would be foolish.
Thanks to his foresight and the information gap from knowing future trends, Lin Haoran had no shortage of ways to make more money.
Realizing this, Lin Haoran, who had originally intended to hold his Apple shares indefinitely, decisively changed his mind.
The goal of investing was to make money.
If Apple's shares were going to stagnate for more than a decade, what was the point of holding onto them?
Thus, Lin Haoran made his decision.
However, he wouldn't rush to dump the shares immediately.
Apple's IPO had been a major success, and the stock was red-hot — there was no way prices would collapse soon.
Besides, he owned more shares than the entire public float combined.
If he dumped them onto the open market all at once, the price would definitely crash.
The best strategy was to find a suitable buyer — a "bag holder" — and transfer all his Apple shares in a private deal.
That way, he wouldn't impact the stock price at all.
He knew finding such a buyer wouldn't be easy.
It would require someone not only with deep pockets but also with strategic vision and faith in Apple's future.
After all, the amount of stock he held was huge — not just anyone could swallow it.
Meanwhile, back at the office, Apple executives and employees were still celebrating wildly.
Apple's IPO success had brought them both tremendous pride and substantial wealth.
By evening, everyone gathered for a grand banquet at the Plaza Hotel in New York.
It wasn't until after 9 p.m. that Lin Haoran finally said goodbye to Jobs and the others.
By then, Jobs and most of the team were already heavily intoxicated.
Lin Haoran, uninterested in wine, had drunk very little and remained completely sober.
He returned to his hotel at 10 p.m.
Before he knew it, it was December 13th.
In the morning, as usual, he had the hotel staff bring up the day's newspapers and breakfast.
As expected, the headlines of nearly every major paper featured Apple's IPO.
And in almost every photo, there he was — Lin Haoran — standing out even more than Jobs himself.
He was the only Asian face among a crowd of white executives.
Because of this, he was even more conspicuous in the group photos — more recognizable than even Jobs.
In the ten newspapers delivered to his room — including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Financial Times, USA Today, and Investor's Business Daily — eight prominently reported on Apple's IPO.
The Wall Street Journal headlined with "Apple IPO: A New Star Shines in Tech Stocks," analyzing Apple's market impact.
The article noted that Apple's successful IPO had boosted not just itself but the entire tech sector.
It also highlighted Lin Haoran, calling him a "mysterious investor" whose extraordinary foresight had led him to recognize Apple's potential.
The New York Times ran the headline "Apple's Glorious IPO: A New Era Begins," reviewing the company's history and emphasizing its achievements in innovation and market expansion.
It called Jobs and Lin Haoran the key figures behind Apple's success.
Meanwhile, USA Today published "Apple IPO: A Nationwide Tech Celebration," offering a lighthearted look at Apple's market reaction and investor enthusiasm.
They even interviewed several small investors and citizens, gathering their expectations and excitement for Apple's future.
The Financial Times took a different angle, focusing on Lin Haoran:
The paper reported that he had invested $10 million early in the year and, within less than twelve months, had seen his stake grow to over $200 million — naming him "Investor of the Year."
Before this, Lin Haoran had occasionally appeared in American media.
But back then, it was rare, and his recognition was limited.
Now, every major business and general news outlet in America was covering the story.
It was safe to say that Lin Haoran had become truly famous overnight.
Not only newspapers, but television networks and radio stations were also reporting on Apple's IPO — and Lin Haoran's name was frequently mentioned.
This was the early 1980s — not the internet era.
Newspapers were still the primary source of information, both in Hong Kong and in the U.S.
Thus, the impact of all this media coverage was enormous.
Apple's $2.1 billion market cap didn't make it one of America's top twenty companies, but it easily landed it within the top fifty.
For comparison:
AT&T, the largest American company by market cap, was valued at just over $30 billion.IBM was second with just over $20 billion.Only a handful of companies even exceeded $10 billion.
Even Procter & Gamble, a global consumer goods giant, had a market cap of just over $3 billion — ranking around 20th.
Thus, Apple's $2.1 billion valuation was a massive achievement.
No wonder the American media was so focused on it.
If a Hong Kong company like Jardines Matheson or Land Holdings Group were listed in America, they would rank among the top fifty companies too — a testament to Hong Kong's formidable economic strength.
In this era without mobile phones, newspapers were the absolute king of news distribution.
Thus, the "Investor of the Year" title was already causing a stir across America.
That Saturday, though Apple's IPO news was everywhere, the stock market was closed.
Thus, there was no immediate new movement in Apple's share price.
After breakfast, Lin Haoran disguised himself carefully, wearing wide-rimmed glasses and a plain jacket.
Given his newfound fame, walking around publicly would almost certainly attract unwanted attention.
Back in Hong Kong, he might not have worried.
But in America — a less familiar and more complex environment — caution was necessary.
Universal Investment Company didn't work weekends, so Lin Haoran didn't go to the office.
Instead, after some thought, he decided to visit Citibank again.
"Mr. Lin, congratulations once again!" Walter Wriston greeted him warmly — though inwardly, he was filled with regret.
Why had they passed up the chance to invest in Apple?
Had Citibank invested, they would have made over $200 million in profit.
Two hundred million — even for Citibank, whose annual profit was only about $600 million, that would have been extraordinary.
Despite Citibank's massive scale, controlling thousands of billions in client funds, their own investments didn't always succeed.
To consistently turn a profit as a bank was no small feat.
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