THE VALUE OF SHARES in technology giant Apple has reached a new high – meaning the company is not only the most valuable publicly-traded company in the world at present, but also the most valuable public company of all time.

Apple shares yesterday closed at a record high of $665.15 (€538.15) – meaning the total value of the company had reached an all-time peak of $623.52 billion (€504.47 billion).

That figure exceeds the previous all-time record, set in December 1999 when the value of Microsoft shares made that company worth $616.34 billion.

The stat must be taken with a pinch of salt, however: the figures do not take into account any inflation in the US in the meantime, so Microsoft’s overall value – if converted to cash – would still be larger.

Figures from the US Inflation Calculator show that, when adjusted for inflation, Microsoft’s peak value would now be $847.57 billion – so Apple still has some way to go.

In fact, the Cupertino company’s shares would need to hit $904.15 each if Apple was to exceed that record in a true sense.

Apple’s milestone did prompt us to look through its historical share price, however, and come up with a few nuggets to reflect how it’s grown.

When the first generation iPod was released on October 23, 2001, it cost $399. If you’d spend that amount on Apple shares instead, your investment would now be worth $27,936.

If you’d opted against buying an original first generation iMac G3 in August 1998, and instead put your $1,299 into Apple shares, your stake was now worth $79,818.

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