Apple began in 1976 as a partnership between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak (a third partner, Ronald Wayne, left within weeks). As partners, they shared the work and were personally on the hook for whatever the business owed. Within a year they incorporated, turning Apple into a corporation. In 1980 the company sold shares to the public for the first time. Today Apple is owned by millions of shareholders who elect a board of directors. The board hires the CEO, Tim Cook, and Cook answers to the board, not the other way around. That shift changed who controls the company and who carries the risk. When Apple borrows money or gets sued, the corporation is liable, not Cook's or any shareholder's personal bank account. The trade is control: the founders gave up sole say over decisions and profits in exchange for the funding a public corporation can raise.