Foreign investors and individual stockholders combined hold 28% of EVA Air shares.

Mr. Markkula remains a director of Apple and is the company's biggest individual stockholder.

That means, he said, that institutional and individual stockholders are less likely to challenge B.P.'s bid.

If individual stockholders do not sell enough to give Jardines the 20 percent it wants, Bear Stearns executives will make up the difference.

The reason for all this help is that technology companies really want individual stockholders.

As a result, it will be far more difficult for individual stockholders to file suits against underwriter-brokers, company officials and accountants in cases of securities fraud.

Wilkerson's interest in the Flamingo made him the largest individual stockholder, owning 48 percent of $6 million.

Of course any unexpected negative news sends these institutions out the door in a rush, leaving hapless individual stockholders with a sharply depreciated asset.

Because few individual stockholders today own more than a fraction of 1 percent of shares outstanding, they have lost control.

Although he himself was the largest individual stockholder, he only owned twelve percent of the company.