Stock Options The Frosting On A Rich High-Tech Cake
The boom in technology stocks is churning out millionaires by the scores as the industry continues to grant employees more stock options than any other, Forbes ASAP magazine says.
Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates, worth about $38.66 billion, heads the magazine’s first list of technology’s 100 richest people, released Sunday. He is followed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and vice president Steve Ballmer, among the 12 Microsoft millionaires on the list - more than any other company.
The list includes 11 billionaires, including Oracle Corp. chairman Larry Ellison, Intel Corp. chairman Gordon Moore and Dell Computer Corp. chairman Michael Dell.
But technology’s wealth has trickled down beyond the boardrooms, according to Forbes ASAP, a technology supplement of the noted business magazine.
Two of the industry’s largest companies, Microsoft and Cisco Systems Inc., grant stock options to all their employees. Computer companies reserve 16 percent of their outstanding shares for employee-option programs, the magazine said in its Oct 6. issue.
xxxx THE TOP 20 The 20 richest people in the technology business as compiled by Forbes ASAP magazine. Following the name and company is the estimated net worth. 1. Bill Gates, Microsoft, $38.66 billion 2. Paul Allen, Microsoft, $14.77 billion 3. Steve Ballmer, Microsoft, $8.21 billion 4. Larry Ellison, Oracle, $8.20 billion 5. Gordon Moore, Intel, $7.97 billion 6. Michael Dell, Dell, $4.66 billion 7. William Hewlett, Hewlett-Packard, $4.20 billion 8. Ted Waitt, Gateway 2000, $2.83 billion 9. David Duffield, PeopleSoft, $1.73 billion 10. Charles B. Wang, Computer Associates, $1.20 billion 11. Robert Galvin, Motorola, $1.10 billion 12. John Morgridge, Cisco, $779.4 million 13. Sanjiv Sidhu, i2 Technologies, $716.0 million 14. Craig Benson, Cabletron, $641.8 million 15. Jim Clark, Netscape, $597.0 million 16. Norman Waitt, Gateway 2000, $543.0 million 17. Steve Jobs, Pixar, $513.8 million 18. Patrizio Vinciarelli, Vicor, $503.5 million 19. S. Robert Levine, Cabletron, $488.2 million 20. John Shirley, Microsoft, $483.5 million