Apple Now King of the Mountain

Yesterday marked an event that probably no sane person would have predicted 13 years ago - Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) surpassed Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) and became the company with the highest market capitalization of any tech company in the world. While the margin of superiority is tight enough that leadership could change hands a few more times, it is probable that Apple is going to enjoy a stretch of time as the most valuable tech company in the world. (For a quick refresher, check out Market Capitalization Defined.)

How Did This Happen?If you go back to 1997 when Steve Jobs rejoined the firm, Apple was nearly bankrupt and WinTel ruled the technology world. Although the PowerBook proved popular, the Macintosh was floundering and the company wasted a great deal of time and money on the Newton platform and a failed alliance with IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Motorola. Enter, or rather re-enter, Steve Jobs. (To read more about Steve Jobs' influence, see What Would Steve Jobs Do? and Hype It Like Steve Jobs.)

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