On your horizon: regrets, or riches

May 1, 2017

This message was written on a Mac by Apple.

I don’t know where you are today, but I hope you’re not inside the infamous “Beltway,” hard at work on the national legislative agenda. A tax overhaul has been announced by the new administration that eliminates some categories and lowers rates in others.

Health care and tax codes are both on the to-do list, for Congress; the “walk and chew gum” challenge is testing the folks who split their time between their chambers and their districts, where their townhall meetings are – these days – not “love fests.” This is a hot-button game-changer…

One stated objective of the tax proposal is to repatriate corporate holdings for companies based in America who have stashed overseas profits offshore, avoiding the tax obligations now in force here. How big is that issue? It was reported yesterday that Apple’s reserves – parked outside the US of A – are about to hit $250 billion. Perspective: that’s more cash than the current market value of Walmart and Proctor & Gamble, combined (source: Wall Street Journal).

Based on their last-quarter reports, Apple’s retained earnings grow at a rate of $3.6 million/hour. I wonder what Ron Wayne thinks when he hears things like that. Who is Ron Wayne?

Wayne was an engineer at Atari when two younger coworkers convinced him to leave his engineering position and join them in a garage-housed tech start-up. He was 41; they were in their early 20s. He called his role “the adult supervision.” He created their first logo; he wrote the manual for their first beta product. He put $800 into the partnership pot – for 10% of the company – but had second-thoughts within days of the venture… and walked out the door. The company was founded on April 1, 1976; he exited on April 12. He took his original $800 investment with him.

Within months, venture capitalists took the risk to infuse the enterprise with cash. They converted the partnership to a corporation, and – as a precaution – offered Wayne $1500 to sign a full release of future claims on the entity. He “made” $1500 on the $800 “investment” that was on deposit for 12 days. A great return, right?

From then to now, that high-risk start-up has done pretty well. Apple’s other two founders – Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs – stuck with it, at least for awhile. The intrigue of the next 41 years – and mortality – infused the story with drama and pathos. But, through it all, the company prevailed…

Wozniak left Apple in 1985, sold most of his stock, and went his own way. Jobs died in 2011. The company has continued its upward climb. Apple’s current value – as of last Friday – is $758 billion. Ron Wayne’s 10% share – had he stayed-the course – would now be valued at $76 billion (he would be #2 on the Forbes list, between Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos). He didn’t have the stomach to wait it out…

Here’s a tip: Jesus has invited us to invest in an enterprise (his Kingdom) that will eventually dominate all markets, with an eternal horizon of massive success that he has personally guaranteed. Put whatever you have in Earth dollars into that stock, and the returns in Kingdom currency will make Ron Wayne’s lost upside at Apple pale in comparison. Is that just pressure for a Sunday offering? Or, is it an informed tip that warrants Monday morning attention?

The Kingdom is still at the garage start-up phase; how much would you like to invest?

Bob Shank