On October 6, 1997, at a Gartner Symposium, when Dell was asked what he would do if he ran the then-troubled Apple Computer company, he said: "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders."
Tanggal 6 Oktober 1997, di Gartner Symposium, ketika Michael Dell ditanyai apa yang akan ia lakukan jika ia memiliki Apple Computer yang sedang bermasalah, ia berkata "Saya akan menutupnya dan mengembalikan uangnya kepada para pemegang saham."