Ivan Feinseth, chief investment officer at Tigress Financial Partners, sums up its success this way: "One word: iPhone."

"They revolutionized communications," he said.

The iPhone's launch on June 29, 2007, turned the Cupertino, California-based Apple into a financial juggernaut.

That year saw Apple's market value climb from $72 billion to $173 billion. By 2010, its value was nearly $300 billion. It breeched $500 billion in 2012; then $600 billion in 2016.

As the stock market has climbed up and up this year, technology companies have propelled the gains. Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft have all watched their fortunes rise - and investors have watched closely to see which would hit $1 trillion first.

"Someone's got to cross that [$1 trillion] line first," financial historian Niall Fergson said. "I guess you wouldn't have put your money on Apple being the winner prior to the iPhone."

- Washington Post