Step 1 : Introduction to the question "If you had invested $1,000 in Microsoft when it went public, approximately how much would it be worth today?"
Microsoft was founded on this day in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, two friends from high school who bonded over their mutual love of computer science. Bill Gates is now the second-richest person in the world, worth an estimated $99 billion, thanks to the success of his software company. And while his wealth is an extreme example, if you had bet on Microsoft in its early days, your gamble would have paid off too. A $1,000 investment in Microsoft on the day of its initial public offering, or IPO, on March 13, 1986, would be worth more than $1.6 million today. That includes price appreciation and dividends.