This is idiotic.

Faced with a serious employee morale problem and options under water, Steve took action to get his employees motivated.

I can't say that said action was essential, but it's hard to see Apple being where they are now if they'd hemorrhaged key staff during bad times.

And in personal terms, there is no difference between having $2Bn and $13Bn in your back pocket. Unless you're convinced you need a third personal Airbus A380 super-jumbo VIP transport, or a dozen extra castles, or something on a similar batshit scale, the diminishing marginal utility of money makes it all moot after the first billion.

Seems to me like he was hedging.

Does he really feel a difference between 2.5B and 13B?

<reddit> My grand grand parents were the dumbest p ever. They sold an estate that has been today found to contain worlds greatest reserve of gold/diamonds/whatever.

They had to be the lamest grand grand parents ever </reddit>

If anything this has to be the dumbest commentary ever. Please, please delete this from HN.

Once you reach the $1 billion mark not much of what you did can be safely categorized as "dumb."

Well, that tells me that even Steve didn't think that Apple was going to make it.

This is similar to insider's selling in bulk when they themselves are not sure of the future of the company.

I don't think Steve Jobs really cares a whole lot about money, anyway.

More like "hindsight is 20/20"...

Say he kept them, apple tanked and he lost everything, now that would have been dumb.

He lost $10.3bn, and I haven't. Therefore, I am more financially savvy than he!

("Think of the money you'd save if you didn't need money" - Lorraine Bowen.)

I'm sure he feels really dumb as he swims around in his Scrooge McDuck style swimming pool of gold coins

Bird in the hand, old chap--bird in the hand.