Perot & Forbes to Buy Apple?

Perot & Forbes to Buy Apple? In the wake of Apple’s recent financial difficulties, there has been rampant speculation that millionaire former presidential candidates Steve Forbes and Ross Perot may join forces to buy Apple Computer, perhaps to help launch a third-party presidential bid in the upcoming U.S. November elections. Although representatives declined to comment officially, spokespersons for both the Forbes and Perot camps noted that while Perot carried an estimated 19 percent of the U.S. electorate in the 1992 presidential election, the Macintosh represents a considerably larger slice of the Web-using public. “Although the correlation between Internet use and voting is not altogether clear,” one representative commented anonymously, “having control of such a popular Web authoring and serving platform makes a lot of sense.” Critics have charged that Perot and Forbes would resort to charlatan publicity tactics similar to Netscape’s “Netscape Now!” buttons wantonly displayed on Web sites, and that such tactics would ultimately backfire. However, Apple executives might be more interested in the possible infusion of cash into the company, regardless of the election outcome. [DG]