Chairman and CEO, Dell Computer NET WORTH $10 billion AGE 33 ADDRESSwww.dell.com BIO It's 1984, and you are an undergraduate
at the University of Texas at Austin with an extra 1,000 bucks.
Would you: a) throw the biggest party since Santa Anna took the
Alamo, b) buy a really sweet used Camaro, or c) start selling
computer components from your dorm room? Michael Dell chose c.
This probably didn't make him the most popular kid on campus, but
how many ex-jocks do you know who will pull down a $36 million
salary this year while owning more than $6 billion worth of stock
in one of the fastest-growing companies in the technology
industry? By cutting out the retailers and selling custom-ordered
computers directly to consumers, Dell Computer has been able to
keep costly inventory at a minimum. Dell has doubled its
worldwide market share over the past three years, and its website
just topped $6 million in sales per day. Dell is to the computer
industry what Dominos is to pizza delivery: fast, dependable and
ubiquitous. 1998 POWER PLAY While the rest of the industry seemed
to catch the Hong Kong flu, Dell saw its sales increase 34% in
Asia last year. Its recent entry into the Chinese market and a
manufacturing facility in Xiamen should help keep the good times
rolling. PLACE YOUR BETS Amazingly, Dell stock has split five
times in the past four years, and it continues to perform well.
While some fear that the much anticipated rise of the inexpensive
network PC may cut into Dell's margins, Dell feels he has that
problem covered. He sells servers too.
