If you invested $1,000 in Apple stock when Steve Ballmer blasted his $500 iPhone, here’s how much you have now – Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

iPhone debuted in 2007, when Apple company (NASDAQ: AAPL) co-founder Steve Jobs He introduced the revolutionary device to the world. Before it became a huge success for Apple and one of the best-selling phones worldwide, many – including a major competitor – were skeptical about the selling quality of the iPhone.

What happened: The iPhone debuted during Jobs’ MacWorld keynote on January 9, 2007. The phone would go on sale later that year and become one of Apple’s biggest revenue drivers and a large part of the company’s subsequent success.

During the keynote, Jobs said that “every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything.” Apple’s CEO said at the time that the iPhone combines three products: a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod, and Internet connections.

“iPhone is a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any mobile phone. We were all born with the perfect pointing tool — our fingers — and iPhone uses it to create the most revolutionary user interface since the mouse.”

He was one of the many people who had a huge reaction to the iPhone unveiling Steve Ballmerwho was then the CEO of a competing company Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT).

During an interview with CNBC, Ballmer was asked about his reaction to the unveiling of the iPhone.

“Five hundred dollars! Fully supported by a plan! You said this is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn’t appeal to business people because it doesn’t have a keyboard.” He said.

Ballmer said the iPhone could sell well, but told CNBC he liked Microsoft’s chances in the smartphone market.

“We have our strategy. I like our strategy. I like it very much,” he said.

Ballmer went on to say that Microsoft was selling “millions and millions and millions of phones a year” and Apple was selling zero at the time, adding that it was too early to call the iPhone a success.

“Six months, they’ll have the most expensive phone yet on the market, and…let’s see how the competition does.”

Microsoft will later exit the smartphone business in 2016.

While Ballmer wasn’t the only competitor mocking the iPhone, his comments remain among the most famous comments made by a competitor over the years.

In a later interview, Palmer I confess He was wrong and went so far as to say that he wished he had thought of some ideas himself.

“I was hoping to think about the phone-through-carriers support model,” Palmer said.

Related Link: 5 Game Changing iPhone Hacks YouTuber MrWhoseTheBoss Recommended in This Viral Video

Investing $1,000 in Apple Stock: The unveiling of the iPhone was a major event — and Ballmer’s comments may have led some investors to be skeptical of the company’s product because of its price. Others, however, may have realized that Apple was on to something.

An investor could have purchased 303.95 shares of Apple on January 17, 2007, the day of Ballmer’s original interview, based on the adjusted split price of $3.29.

An investment of $1,000 would be worth $50,157.83 today, based on the $165.02 price of Apple shares at the time of writing. This represents a return of 4,9515.7% over the past 16 years.

However, the investor who believes more strongly in Microsoft’s future, would have received lower dividends today. An investment of $1,000 in Microsoft stock on the day of Ballmer’s interview would be worth $9,090.03 today, an 809% gain over the past 16 years.

Although Apple has beaten Microsoft over the past 16 years by a large margin in terms of stock returns, both stocks have significantly outperformed the S&P 500, according to the S&P 500 ETF Trust Tracker.

An investor who bought $1,000 worth of SPY shares when Ballmer made the comments would receive $2,873.03 today, an increase of 187.3%.

Read Next: If You Invested $1,000 In Microsoft Stock When Bill Gates Explained The Internet To David Letterman, Here’s How Much You Have Today

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