Kyle was a multi-billionaire, and a self-made one at that. Even though he was still very young, none of the hundreds of shareholders and their representatives present dared to disregard his opinion.
What's more, Kyle was currently the largest individual shareholder in Apple!
Suddenly, countless eyes turned to Kyle, who shyly said, "This isn't good. I've just become a member of the board of directors, but I really know very little about Apple. Wouldn't speaking rashly affect everyone's judgment?"
"Sly fox!"
Someone in the crowd muttered under their breath.
The voice wasn't loud, but many people heard it.
Kyle himself heard it.
"Mr. Page, you don't need to be so modest. Even if you lack understanding of Apple, we all trust your vision and your overall perspective. Please speak boldly." The shareholder who had previously refuted Jobs spoke up again.
This shareholder, named Cordell Davies, was the owner of a small oil company. In recent years, he had invested in many internet companies and made a considerable fortune. His stock value alone was no less than a billion dollars.
He was extremely at odds with Jobs.
In fact, he was a staunch opponent of Jobs regaining control of Apple!
"Mr. Davies, please spare me."
Kyle quickly waved his hand and said, "Don't look at my current net worth as being substantial. That's absolutely not all due to my own efforts. Aside from the film industry, other internet stocks and such were truly just a matter of luck."
In one sentence: I can watch the show, but if you want me to take a stand, no way!
"You!" Cordell Davies was somewhat annoyed.
Another shareholder representative from Cordell Davies' camp couldn't help but stand up and say, "Mr. Page, this is a shareholders' meeting, not an executive board meeting. As the company's largest individual shareholder, your opinion is extremely valuable. Please don't be stingy!"
"Yes, yes!" Many people around chimed in.
Kyle immediately put on a troubled expression and gritted his teeth, "Don't bully me just because I'm young and think I have a good temper. I have one principle: for unfamiliar industries and unclear matters,
I absolutely do not express opinions lightly. This is my principle, and I hope everyone understands."
In his words, Kyle appeared very principled and neither humble nor arrogant.
"No one should expect to use me as a pawn," Kyle thought with disdain.
At this moment, Jobs looked at Kyle again and asked, "Are you sure you won't express an opinion?"
Hearing this, Kyle playfully said, "I'm very tired today. You all speak, and I'll just listen. After all, I'm still very young."
Jobs didn't say much, but… he caught one word.
—Today!
Clearly, he knew Kyle had his own plans.
For a moment, Jobs couldn't help but curse inwardly.
The subsequent shareholders' meeting became much more interesting.
Shareholders led by Cordell Davies refuted the plans set by Jobs; Jobs, however, didn't back down at all, engaging in a fierce war of words with them; furthermore, there were some neutral shareholders who absolutely loved to watch the drama unfold, stirring the pot.
The war of words was extremely exciting!
"You bastards!"
"Stupid fools~"
"Don't look at Apple's stock price rising quite a bit again in the past two years, but have you seen our core competitiveness? The things we're using are still the old stuff!"
"Those things, which you consider precious assets, are in my eyes nothing more than antiques, just garbage."
"You heard me right, it's garbage, garbage that can be thrown away at will!"
"A company that loses its spirit of innovation and its courage to explore will not be far from ruin!"
"Stupid, backward-thinking, complacent bastards, your birth on this earth is a complete blasphemy against God. If I were your parents, I would have crushed you all to death and shoved you back into the womb."
Jobs was Jobs. Even after enduring hardships and shedding many sharp edges, his temper remained fiery.
That's right!
From beginning to end, Jobs was never a gentle gentleman, but a hot-tempered general. Regarding his temper, he had repeatedly stated it bluntly in public.
Whether it was developing the new operating system Mac OS X or the iPod digital music player, Jobs believed both were very necessary.
He even thought: if Apple wanted to regain its glory and return to greatness, it absolutely had to launch these two projects.
Of course, he still faced opposition from many people.
Cordell Davies retorted, "Are you, Jobs, the only one with foresight, and we are all stupid? Then why don't you talk about the charging issue for Apple e-mail?"
Jobs: "..."
Immediately, many people in the room laughed.
Kyle himself also laughed heartily, quite ungraciously.
Apple e-mail was once a flagship project for Apple in the mid-90s, carving out a niche from Microsoft and AOL and gaining a significant market share, with no small amount of monthly advertising revenue.
This profit allowed Apple to do fairly well.
However... Jobs made a foolish decision!
"I believe Apple e-mail should be charged for, with an annual service fee of $100 per user. This is quite reasonable because we will provide better and more diversified e-mail services." This was Jobs' decision.
However, this charging measure was met with strong resistance from users.
And so, Apple e-mail completely collapsed... Don't expose someone's shortcomings, don't hit someone's face?
Haha, at this moment, Jobs was being slapped in the face by a group of opposing shareholders, and it hurt like hell!
"Meeting adjourned!!!"
An important decision cannot be settled in one meeting or with a few words, especially when it involves investing heavily in developing a new operating system.
Undoubtedly, this shareholders' meeting was a failure.
Well, at least for Jobs, it was definitely a failure, because very few people supported him.
Of course, the shareholders' meeting was just a prelude; it didn't play a decisive role. Ultimately, the decision would still be made by a few directors with larger shareholdings at an executive board meeting... The next day.
Jobs called Kyle and invited him to dinner.
"Boss, Jobs invited you to dinner. I suppose it's still about those two decisions for Apple yesterday, right?" Alexander chuckled.
Kyle smiled, "Besides that, I can't think of anything else. After all, I've known him for many years, but our relationship... is just so-so."
Time slowly passed, and in a blink of an eye, it was evening.
In a Michelin three-star French restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, Kyle and Jobs sat opposite each other.
"Kyle, we've known each other for almost 5 years. If I'm not mistaken, this is our first time having dinner together, isn't it?" Jobs said after taking a sip of wine.
Kyle immediately laughed, "You're right, it really is. I haven't had dinner with you, but I often hang out with John Lasseter and Andrew."
"I know." Jobs nodded.
The rest of the time was naturally spent eating and chatting idly.
Suddenly, Kyle said, "Jobs, let's get straight to the point, OK? You suddenly being like this, I'm actually a bit unaccustomed to it."
Immediately, Jobs' expression stiffened.
Although there was no conflict between him and Kyle, their relationship was indeed ordinary. Aside from work, they had almost no contact.
What did he want to say now?
It was nothing more than to get Kyle to support his decisions at Apple!
Although Kyle had only recently become a member of the company's board of directors, he was, after all, the company's largest individual shareholder and a well-known billionaire in the United States. Based on this alone, Kyle naturally had considerable influence at Apple.
"I hope you support me!" Jobs stared intently at Kyle.
Kyle stopped smiling, put down his knife and fork, and unhurriedly wiped his mouth with a wet wipe, saying seriously, "What do I get?"
"I can give you a higher position at Apple, such as an executive director position." Jobs said in a deep voice.
For Jobs, this was already a huge concession.
Kyle said in a deep voice, "Executive director position? It sounds really good, but do you think I'd care? As long as you, Jobs, are Apple's chairman, do you think the position of executive director has any reason to exist? Does it have any say? Don't try to fool me~"
How strong-willed was Jobs!
Just as Kyle said, the assertive Jobs, even if he wouldn't turn Apple into a one-man show, truly made the executive director position unnecessary.
"Then what do you want?" Jobs suddenly chuckled.
It's not scary if you're formidable, it's scary if you have no desires; as long as you have desires, then there's something to talk about.
They were all old foxes, damn it!
Don't blame Kyle for being despicable, taking advantage of someone's difficult situation. Exchange of interests is simply the norm in America.