Talk:Michael Dell

Philanthropy

Does donating money to the inauguration of George Bush really count as Philanthropy?

Jewish?

According to www.israelnewsagency.com/jewisrael194800.html he is Jewish, a lot of Google results come up, with one of the first being his foundation with a lot of Jewish donations, so my guess is he is Jewish, I am adding in that he is, if anyone has any proof he isn't, please show it before changing it.

After some looking around Wikipedia the List of Jewish American business figures article seems to claim he is Jewish. 220.233.48.200 07:06, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

I'm an old friend of Michaels; I can confirm he's Jewish.

Sorry, your original research is not appreciated. We here at Wikipedia need reliable evidence like a Times article or a Pokemon trading card, not this hearsay from a nobody. 66.108.249.109 00:03, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Seems to be a whole lot of evidence and sources that he is Jewish. Which one should we use as a reference?

http://www.nndb.com/people/975/000029888/

http://www.seekluck.com/money_masters/dell-computers.htm

http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/michael-dell/

http://www.myviplife.com/lifestories/vipbusiness/Michael_Dell_bi.php?c=4

Since "Jewish" is an adjective () not an ethnicity but is used in our modern times to denote someone who practices Judaism. The Ethnicity should be edited. Ginglu (talk) 05:31, 18 January 2013 (UTC)

http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/15376/

He still is processing all he learned from his conversation in Austin, TX with Dell Computer founder Michael Dell. "I was impressed that he cared so deeply about the Jewish community," he commented, awed that one of the world's wealthiest businessmen was so down to earth.

"Michael Dell spoke to us about the importance of acknowledging that within each of us is a Jewish soul and it is important for us to determine how we want to direct our Jewish passions to best make an impact." He looks forward to traveling to New York next month for the next session in this four-part lunch series featuring Edgar Bronfman and his son Adam.

http://www.msdf.org/About_Us/Board_of_Directors.aspx

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/archive/0502dell.html Another hint: his middle name is Saul. Obviously, personal experience is insufficient, but how many non-Jewish Saul's do you know? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.70.199.122 (talk) 04:05, 21 October 2010 (UTC)

I hate this obsession with who is Jewish in wikipedia. You realize the Mormons will convert you as soon as you die, right? let's obsess over who is Mormon. 68.174.97.122 (talk) 02:45, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

References

Dorm room?

i know the room that michael dell stayed at to start his buisness. it was 3f east side campus it was a fabulous time to see the room it is now part of history!

Donations

Dell has made tons of donations in Austin area. Can someone add the donations that he has made? Also, he always has his name added to the building that he donates. Like the "Michael Dell Jewish Community Center", etc. Thanks! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.112.178.64 (talk) 22:57, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

PC's Limited?

I've changed this to PCs Limited, since that's the grammatically correct way to spell it. However, if this is literally what he called it, please change it to "PC's Limited (sic)". splintax ^(talk) 13:39, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

Ithink it shoule be PC's Limited. Though the apostrophe is technically incorrect, it's a proper name, so all bets are off. Here is a photo of an old PC's Limited keyboard. (This is the keyboard I still use to this day.) As you can see, he put the apostrophe in PC's Limited. Ringzero

Image:pcslimited.gif Ballmer, Steve

ef west side campus

Stepped Down ?

why did Dell step down for the other guy to be the CEO ?

Dobie Center

Additional references for the name of the dorm where Dell founded his company can be found at Talk:Jester Center. Johntex\^talk 16:40, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Children?

Other places on private databases say Dell has only two children. Can we have a Citation on that?
24.23.115.17 03:20, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

What is Michael Dell's full name?

Is it Michael Saul Dell or Michael Seth Dell? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 59.93.68.239 (talk) 01:27, 2 February 2007 (UTC).

• Michael Saul Dell. I found a source and cited it in the article. —midg3t 04:22, 30 March 2007 (UTC)

Merge Dell's personal comments?

An anonymous user (131.123.228.92) has suggested that Dell's personal comments about Apple should be merged to the main Dell page. I don't personally see why these comments should be merged. I also don't see a discussion or proposal from the user why they should be either. Any objections to removing the proposal? Mrand 13:16, 6 May 2007 (UTC) Dell 501

Probably not, unless it had existed as a big enough feud (eg. more than a couple crossed words over the course of their rivalry) to warrant a mention as the company as a whole. They have been rivals, monstrous CEO's with gigantic billion-dollar companies under them, so it might be interesting only if it was big enough. But unless so, you're probably right.-70.74.122.87 10:36, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Dead Links

Just append to this post if you find any; I just found one when I was interested in checking out the world's richest people.-70.74.122.87 10:32, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Dead Links (post here)
08152007 - footnote number 9 lead to a page that "does not exist" on the website, perhaps it's been moved or there's another website that offers the same information?

Death (post here)
081522007 - footnote —Preceding unsigned comment added by 205.126.20.160 (talk) 17:58, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

i just want to know how much money did you make on Dell Computer —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.5.23.226 (talk) 15:31, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Feud with Apple's Steve Jobs

Feud with Apple's Steve Jobs

Michael Dell had a public war of words with Apple, Inc. CEO Steve Jobs, starting when Jobs first criticized Dell for making "un-innovative beige boxes". On October 6, 1997, when Michael Dell was asked what he would do if he owned then-troubled Apple Computer, he said "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."[15] In 2002, Dell's online store started selling Apple's iPod music players[16]. They stopped selling iPods in 2003, due to contract issues between Apple and Dell.[17] On January 13, 2006, Apple's market capitalization surpassed that of Dell [18] and, as of September 2008, now stands at over four times Dell's market cap[18]. As of October, 2008 Apple, with over $25 Billion in cash and zero debt, has more cash than Dell's market capitalization.[19][20]

Most of this block doesn't belong in the Michael Dell page (it's more about the company than him), and this "war of words" looks like a few criticisms by both of them. Compare it to the version on the Steve Jobs page. Sure, Dell was wrong, but Jobs is portrayed a lot better in both. Did anything else happen other than those two remarks? 171.71.36.248 (talk) 17:52, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Jewish? (part 2)

I'd like to revisit this (from the discussion above.) Should the infobox claim, as it does, "Religion: Jewish"? The question is problematic because "Jewish" can refer to both religion and heritage. I think the latter is beyond question. The former is not, and I'd question it. Keep in mind that this is an article about a living person, so the criteria for inclusion is strict: there must be clear evidence--and I don't see it. Religion is something you practice, or at least proclaim. Prayer, attending temple, belief in God--those would all do it. The references so far don't show that. At best, a reporter has made an assumption. And more tellingly, to my recollection, Dell never discusses his religion in his biography. He doesn't proclaim it. Maybe Dell practices Judaism. Maybe he quietly prefers Buddhism or is an atheist. All are possible, and until we have a convincing source that answers the question (rather than making an inference), I don't think the infobox should hazard a guess. Barte (talk) 14:27, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

I would only comment that by "Jewish tradition" if his mother is Jewish the Jewish community considers him to be be Jewish regardless of practices as long as he has not "converted" to some other religion. Greenbomb101 (talk) 20:14, 29 October 2010 (UTC)

But we don't know if Dell has converted to another religion, or to no religion, at all. (The latter is not necessarily a blank that others are free to fill in; it may instead be a conscious stance.) As this is an entry about a living person, the criteria for inclusion is high. We can't just infer. OTOH, if someone wants to gather sources describing Dell's involvement in the Jewish community, that, to my mind, would be a legitimate section. Barte (talk) 20:57, 29 October 2010 (UTC)

SIDAGTMBTTS

Shouldn't this (now) famous acronym by Mr. Dell be included in his bio legacy? hydnjo (talk) 03:01, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

"Shut It Down and Give the Money Back to the Shareholders" so annoying that everybody should have to go look this up for themselves. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.174.97.122 (talk) 02:50, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

An obscure acronym not actually used by the subject of the article with 40 odd google hits? Why? Kuru (talk) 03:10, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

To provide behavioral insight . hydnjo (talk) 03:23, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

What insight is that providing? Is there a pattern of behavior that is critical to this biography? Why do you consider this a "famous" acronym? Kuru (talk) 03:34, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

I reconsider - it's not "famous" - just commonly attributed to Mr. Dell. Lets leave it out for now. hydnjo (talk) 03:39, 19 August 2010 (UTC)

Net Worth

Dell's Net Worth has DROPPED, not gone up. Therefore, the moderators have been making a mistake. Going to Forbes and looking at dell's profile clearly shows this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.9.154.132 (talk) 23:46, 8 February 2011 (UTC)

There are no moderators here; just fellow editors. It will usually help if you include an edit summary to explain why you made a certain edit, especially when changing "cited" material. I agree with your assessment - his net worth dropped from 2009 to 2010 and that is what that gain/loss template is supposed to represent. Kuru (talk) 01:09, 9 February 2011 (UTC)

File:Dell at world economic forum.jpg Nominated for speedy Deletion

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Gay?

Is Michael Dell gay? CNBC reports inter alia: "Perhaps the sunshine and surf bring Michael Dell and his partner Egon Durban ..." suggesting Dell & Durban are gay "partners". Or is the American-English usage failing us here (again)? Santamoly (talk) 17:09, 2 August 2013 (UTC)

In this context, the article refers to Dell and Durban as business partners, not romantic partners. --RaygunShaun (talk) 21:59, 28 August 2013 (UTC)

References

Promise ogunomere

I will like to learn more about technology and science Promise ogunomere (talk) 17:45, 20 January 2018 (UTC)

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A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for deletion:

• PCs Limited Turbo PC signed by Michael Dell.jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 18:06, 10 December 2018 (UTC)

NPOV and sourcing concern

I have a broad NPOV concern about this article as it stands right now, but I think the bulk of the problem can be managed with some fairly specific edits. In particular, the Early Life and Education section goes into several details which to me read like marketing material for the biography's subject. I cannot see why the specific details of the subject's business strategies as a teenager are relevant to the subject's notability. This concern is seriously exacerbated by the fact that several of these details are sourced only to the subject's book about himself. I consider this a pretty clear violation of WP:BLPSELFPUB, and in particular point 1 (self-published material can be cited only if it not unduly self-serving), and arguably also point 5 (most of this section is indeed predicated just on the subject's publicly marketed narrative around his own success). Because this is such a specific problem, I'm choosing to note it here and then delete those specific lines which I think clearly violate NPOV, rather than flagging the whole article with a vague NPOV concern. - Astrophobe (talk) 21:22, 23 January 2019 (UTC)

Penalty + Accolades

The Penalty and Accolades sections should exist as subsections within Career, no? Both are tied to his role as CEO of Dell. BelBivDov (talk) 23:55, 4 February 2020 (UTC)

Wealth unclear from reading article

First: "In 2011, his 243.35 million shares of Dell stock were worth $3.5 billion, giving him 12% ownership of the company.[3] His remaining wealth of roughly $10 billion is invested in other companies and is managed by MSD Capital."

Then: " Forbes estimated Dell's net worth at $50.4 billion as of April 2021."

Think the latter should move to the ingress since the difference is great. Unless I'm misunderstanding something here. 2A02:1406:1B:B555:CEE:4321:781A:AF63 (talk) 21:42, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

Request to remove signature from Infobox

Hey there! I'm a Dell Technologies employee. I'd like to ask about removing the picture of Michael Dell's signature from the infobox. His signature is personally identifiable information that is not of encyclopedic interest, as he's not an artist or athlete or someone else with a "public" signature.

In addition to removing the signature from the infobox, I wonder if editors could replace the image below the signature of the PC's Limited Turbo PC with a zoomed-out picture of the same computer that is already on Wikimedia Commons. Michael Dell's signature is still present in this image, but it's much less prominent. The caption could slightly change to "A PC's Limited Turbo Signed by Dell on display at the Goodwill Computer Museum" or something similar.

I'll now step aside and let the community review this request. If anybody has questions or concerns, don't hesitate to let me know. Thanks! JM with Dell Technologies (talk) 17:20, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

Done. K1812 (talk) 17:56, 29 October 2024 (UTC)

Thank you so much for the prompt assistance, K1812! JM with Dell Technologies (talk) 21:25, 5 November 2024 (UTC)

Request to merge Wealth and Philanthropy sections

Hello again, I have another request for editors to consider. Right now this article contains a Wealth section and a Philanthropy section (which is actually a subsection of the Personal life section). Since the factual claims in both of these sections are closely related, I think it would make sense to combine them into one section called "Wealth and philanthropy" and then chronologically organize the information. I took a stab at doing this below:

New Wealth and philanthropy section

Question: Hi! Just a question, what would happen to the Personal life section? Likeanechointheforest (talk) 03:02, 23 November 2024 (UTC) Wealth and philanthropy In 1998, Dell founded MSD Capital L.P., later renamed DFO Management, to manage his family's investments. In 1999, Michael and Susan Dell established the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which focuses on causes related to health and education. In February 2018, it was reported that in 2014, Dell had paid $100.5 million for Manhattan's One57 penthouse, which was then a record for the most expensive home ever sold in the city. With his wife, Dell was the third-largest donor in America in 2023 with total giving of $975 million. That same year, Michael Dell donated $3.6 billion of cash-stock into his family foundation and another half billion into a donor-advised fund. The Dells were 17th on Forbes 2024 Top 25 Most Philanthropic Billionaires list with lifetime giving of $2.5 billion. On March 1, 2024, Dell's net worth crossed the $100 billion mark, after Dell, Inc. reported an earnings beat, pushing the stock up 32% in the trading day and adding $13.7 billion into his fortune from $90.6 billion to $104.3 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the 12th-richest person at that time. References

As you review you'll see that I stripped away the claim about the Dell Jewish Community Campus as that bit felt less relevant than the other claims. I also updated the charitable giving figures while citing newer sources.

I'll now step aside and let the community review this request. If anybody has questions or concerns, don't hesitate to let me know. Thanks! JM with Dell Technologies (talk) 21:41, 22 November 2024 (UTC)

Reply 26-NOV-2024

  Unable to review  

1. Exact, verbatim descriptions of any text and/or references to be removed needs to be provided with the request. Currently, only the text to be added and/or requested to remain is included with the proposal.
2. Kindly open a new edit request at your earliest convenience when ready to proceed with the missing information.

References

Regards,  Spintendo  08:48, 26 November 2024 (UTC)

Updated request to merge Wealth and Philanthropy sections

Hello again. Spintendo asked me to reformat my last request so I'm back with a "take two" where I'm going to try and be as explicit as possible in laying out what I'm asking for.

Right now the last two sections in the article are Wealth and Personal life. Personal life has a subsection called Philanthropy. All of those sections + subsections together look like this:

Existing Wealth section and Personal Life section

Wealth In 1998, Dell founded MSD Capital L.P., later renamed DFO Management, to manage his family's investments. In February 2018, it was reported that in 2014, Dell had paid $100.5 million for Manhattan's One57 penthouse, which was then a record for the most expensive home ever sold in the city. On March 1, 2024, Dell's net worth crossed the $100 billion mark, after Dell, Inc. reported an earnings beat, pushing the stock up 32% in the trading day and adding $13.7 billion into his fortune from $90.6 billion to $104.3 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the 12th-richest person at that time. Personal life Dell married Susan Lieberman on October 28, 1989, in Austin, Texas; the couple reside there with their four children. Philanthropy In 1999, Michael and Susan Dell established the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which focuses on causes related to health and education. Dell is also behind the founding of the Dell Jewish Community Campus in the Northwest Hills neighborhood of Austin. With his wife, Dell was the third-largest donor in America in 2023 with total giving of $975 million. Dell and his wife have been among the top three most generous donors in America previous in 2003 and 2017. References

My request is to make Personal life a standalone section and then merge the Wealth and philanthropy material together like so...

New Personal life section with Wealth and philanthropy section

Personal life Dell married Susan Lieberman on October 28, 1989, in Austin, Texas; the couple reside there with their four children. Wealth and philanthropy In 1998, Dell founded MSD Capital L.P., later renamed DFO Management, to manage his family's investments. In 1999, Michael and Susan Dell established the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, which focuses on causes related to health and education. In February 2018, it was reported that in 2014, Dell had paid $100.5 million for Manhattan's One57 penthouse, which was then a record for the most expensive home ever sold in the city. With his wife, Dell was the third-largest donor in America in 2023 with total giving of $975 million. That same year, Michael Dell donated $3.6 billion of cash-stock into his family foundation and another half billion into a donor-advised fund. The Dells were 17th on Forbes 2024 Top 25 Most Philanthropic Billionaires list with lifetime giving of $2.5 billion. On March 1, 2024, Dell's net worth crossed the $100 billion mark, after Dell, Inc. reported an earnings beat, pushing the stock up 32% in the trading day and adding $13.7 billion into his fortune from $90.6 billion to $104.3 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the 12th-richest person at that time. References

In this version, I lead with the Personal life section about Dell marrying Susan Lieberman, living in Austin, and having four children.

Then we have a new section titled Wealth and philanthropy that contains all three paragraphs (four total sentences) and related citations from the current Wealth section.

This section also contains the first sentence ("In 1999, Michael and Susan Dell established the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation...") from the current Philanthropy subsection.

I cut the second sentence ("Dell is also behind the founding of the Dell Jewish Community Campus...") because it feels less significant than the other information, but if you want to keep it that's completely fine. The Texas Monthly citation is certainly strong.

I update and slightly expand these two sentences...

With his wife, Dell was the third-largest donor in America in 2023 with total giving of $975 million. Dell and his wife have been among the top three most generous donors in America previously in 2003 and 2017.

...into these three sentences:

With his wife, Dell was the third-largest donor in America in 2023 with total giving of $975 million. That same year, Michael Dell donated $3.6 billion of cash-stock into his family foundation and another half billion into a donor-advised fund. The Dells were 17th on Forbes 2024 Top 25 Most Philanthropic Billionaires list with lifetime giving of $2.5 billion.

The first sentence is the same. The second sentence is new. The third sentence is an updated version of the current "most generous donors" sentence. (I've changed the framing from "2003 and 2007" to "lifetime," which is both more logically intuitive and more accurate.) The supporting citations are The Chronicle of Philanthropy (sentence one), The Forbes Philanthropy Score (sentence two), and The Forbes Philanthropic Billionaires list (sentence three).

The draft I put together arranges all of the claims listed above into chronological order.

Please let me know what you think. I'm also tagging Likeanechointheforest, since they left a comment in the last request (asking about the Personal life section) that I hope I've answered here. JM with Dell Technologies (talk) 22:22, 9 December 2024 (UTC)