Michael Dell Really Can't Lose: How He Transformed A Struggling P.C. Business Into $30 Billion

Forbes' November 2013 cover on how Michael Dell won the war to take his company private. "Dell Can't Lose," read the cover of Forbes Magazine on November 18, 2013 as we chronicled how personal computer billionaire Michael Dell relented against Carl Icahn to take his company private in what was dubbed "the nastiest tech buyout ever." If anything the cover was a tad understated. It's now clear Mr. Dell stands to make a fortune from Dell's privatization, turnaround, and inevitable return to public stock markets. So much so, here's an update on what it meant to be the victor: While Carl Icahn made a small profit challenging Dell for greenmail before ultimately ceding defeat, Michael Dell has accrued a paper fortune from the deal that is alone greater than the net worth of his onetime foe, Icahn.