Fortune: Former Apple Trio Squanders Millions

by , 4:55 PM EDT, March 19th, 2008

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former Apple CEO Gil Amelio and former Apple CTO Ellen Hancock turned $173 million in investment funds into a company greatly in debt, according to Fortune Magazine on Tuesday.

"In a special-purpose acquisition corporation, popular Wall Street vehicles whose organizers raise money to spend on yet-to-be-determined targets, investors buy solely into the pedigree of the founders. Which is why they were so quick to pour $173 million into Acquicor, a SPAC formed in 2005 by a supergroup [formerly] of Apple," wrote Adam Lashinsky.

However, an ill-timed purchase of Jazz Semiconductor and tough times in the semiconductor and wireless industries led to a nasty downturn and the Acquicor stock plummeted. The trio turned to UBS to explore "strategic alternatives," Mr. Lashinsky noted.

While Mr. Wozniak and Ms. Hancock have resigned, Mr. Amelio carries on, receives a salary reported to be $600K, and has remained optimistic that he's "laying the foundation for a much better future."

Many, many former Apple employees have gone on to start new companies. Some have done remarkably well and some have not. In this case, the eagerness of investors to believe that merely having worked for Apple confers a magic touch of success may have been overly optimistic.