by STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press Writer

BOSTON (AP) -- A man who believed he had sold all his shares in a high-flying computer data storage company found himself nearly $4 million richer after discovering he still owned 1,000 shares of the firm's stock.

The man, who asked that his name not be published, said he had no idea he still owned stock in Hopkinton, Mass.-based EMC Corp. until he was contacted by the state treasurer's office last month.

''I'm no accounting genius,'' the 62-year-old salesman told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The man, who lives in Boston, said he purchased 3,000 shares of stock in 1987 on the advice of a cousin. Sometime during the 1990s he sold 2,000 shares of the stock to pay for his children's college tuition and forgot about the remaining 1,000 shares.

Some 13 years later, the value of 1,000 shares had ballooned to nearly $4 million.

The forgotten shares were discovered by the treasury's Abandoned Property Division. By law, brokerage firms must turn over to the state stocks which show no activity by their owners after three years.

''This is an unbelievable story with a very happy ending,'' state Treasurer Shannon O'Brien said.

The state was able to contact the man by tracking down his sister.

Between 1987 and 2000, EMC became one of the world's leading supplier of computer data storage systems.

The company's stock reflected its growth, rising 80,575 percent between January, 1990 and December, 1999.

EMC's stock has split six times since 1992, including one three-for-two split. The original 1,000 stocks multiplied into 48,000.

EMC closed at $79.50 per share Tuesday -- a value of about $3.8 million for 48,000 shares. By Wednesday, the stock was down to about $71.12 per share.

After he contacted the treasurer's office, the man said he searched his attic and found the extra 1,000 shares stuffed in a box. He said over the years as he saw EMC's stocks skyrocket, he would kick himself for selling what he believed to be all his shares.

As for the money itself, the man said he plans to spread it around, giving some to his two children and two grandchildren and helping a few down-and-out friends.

But he doesn't plan to give up the job he's had for more than 30 years. He also readily admits he is not the best person to give advice on personal finances.

''I knew (the stock) was going up, but I really didn't know what I was doing,'' he said.

EMC spokesman Mark Frederickson said a lot of people have made a lot of money with the company, the state's largest high tech firm.

''EMC stock has made a lot of millionaires over the past decade,'' he said. ''We're delighted to hear it has made someone's holiday season brighter than they ever could have imagined.''

The $4 million find is believed to be the largest ever discovered by the state's Abandoned Property Division, which attempts to find the owners of assets that have been inactive for more than three years. The property can include anything from the contents of safe deposit boxes to bank accounts.

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), November 30, 2000

Answers

Wow! He'll even have some left over after Uncle Sam gets through with him! ;-)

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), December 03, 2000.

How about "Man discovers stocks, loses house and family." ?

I'm sure they had to dig pretty deep to find a recent good-news story about stock gains. It's like when some horrible natural disaster hits some people. The widespread reality is horrible, but this is ignored by the media, in favour of the one in million lucky person that got rescued.

-- pear-shaped (qwerty@snerty.com), January 25, 2001.