10 starting facts You Probably Didn't Know About Microsoft

1. If you bought one share of Microsoft stock for $21 at its March 13, 1986, IPO, it would be worth $14,990 today. That’s a whopping 71,283% increase over 30 years.
2. In fact, in 1987, at age 31, Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates became the youngest billionaire ever at the time. In 1995, he’d become the world’s richest man with a net worth of $12.9 billion.
3. Analysts estimate that Microsoft’s explosive growth has made for at least two billionaires other than Gates, and as many as 12,000 millionaires. Like former CEO Steve Ballmer, who bought the LA Clippers for $2 billion in 2014.
4. In 1988, Gates bought his 66,000 square foot ‘Xanadu 2.0’ estate in Medina, Washington for $2 million. It’s said to be worth $123 million today.
5. Microsoft cofounders Bill Gates and Paul Allen designed the company’s first logo in under a day. The funky ‘O’ was called the ‘blibbet.’
6. Famed producer and musician Brian Eno wrote the famous Windows startup sound, which debuted in Windows 95.
7. In fact, Windows 95 had a close relationship with music: The Rolling Stones’ ‘Start Me Up’ was the operating system’s official theme song, and the super-deluxe CD version came with the music video for Weezer’s ‘Buddy Holly.’
8. Microsoft’s first killer app was Microsoft Excel, which unseated the reigning spreadsheet champions Apple VisiCalc and Lotus 1-2-3. Without Excel, nothing else would have been possible
9. Microsoft employees are expected to bring M&Ms to the office to share on their work anniversaries — the tradition is one pound (0.45kg) for every year they’ve been with the company.
10. Microsoft holds 48,313 patents, including this one for its funky futuristic ‘HoloLens’ headset