Apple at 50: How a garage startup became a $3.5-trillion titan

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Fifty years ago, Steve Wozniak knew he built a great personal computer, but the young engineer couldn’t convince his employer, Hewlett-Packard, to buy into the big idea.“Five times they turned me down for the personal computer.

I wanted Hewlett-Packard to do it.I loved my company, but now Steve Jobs and I had to go into business,” Wozniak told The Times.

Business An auction to commemorate Apple’s upcoming 50th anniversary includes Apple’s first check and a rare prototype board.Personal items that belonged to late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, such as his desk, bowties and 8-track tapes, are also up for sale.Wozniak and Jobs, both in their 20s, co-founded Apple with Ron Wayne on April 1, 1976.

Back then, personal computers were very expensive and rare.Apple would go on to revolutionize the tech industry, creating innovative, intuitive and beautiful gadgets billions of people would buy again and again.

Apple, now one of the world’s most valuable and powerful companies, turns 50 this week.From its humble beginnings when the founders worked out of Jobs’ family garage, Apple has ballooned over the last five decades, opening a sprawling ring-shaped headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., and employing roughly 166,000 workers.Its market value has surpassed $3.5 trillion, making it the second-largest company in the world after Nvidia.

In the fiscal year ending in September, Apple reported revenue of $416 billion and a net income of $112 billion.The company has attracted a large loyal fan base with more than 2.5 billion active Apple devices worldwide.“Apple is more than just a technology company.

It’s really a cultural icon,” said Jacob Bourne, a technology analyst at eMarketer.By creating well-designed products that blur the lines between work and enjoyment, Apple helped foster an emotional connection to the brand, he said.The company’s strong stance on privacy and ...