Michael Dell: The Story Behind the Fortune
Michael Dell founded the computer company that bears his name from his university dorm room in 1984. He took the company private in 2013 and public again in 2018, and controls it alongside investment firm MSD Capital.
Michael Dell founded the computer company that bears his name from his university dorm room in 1984. He took the company private in 2013 and public again in 2018, and controls it alongside investment firm MSD Capital.
Michael Dell built this fortune from the ground up — a self-made success in technology & computer hardware.
He studied at University of Texas (dropped out) and is based in Austin, Texas.
A few of the highlights on the public record: Started the company from his dorm room at age 19; Took Dell private in a $25 billion deal in 2013; Returned Dell to the public markets in 2018.
The journey to get here is well documented. In 1984, started the company from his University of Texas dorm room, selling custom PCs directly to customers. In 1988, took the company public. In 2013, led a roughly $25 billion buyout to take Dell private. In 2018, brought Dell Technologies back to the stock market.
On net worth alone, the closest companies are Elon Musk ($417.59B) and Jeff Bezos ($265.71B) — a reminder of how tightly bunched the very top of the wealth list really is.
Today, Michael is worth an estimated $324.48B — #2 in the world on our real-time list, a figure that moves with DELL's share price.