Thanks to the US Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Al Gore, who sits on the Apple board, recently purchased 59,000 shares of Apple stock. This shouldn't be news, but the following bit will make you realise why: Gore purchased the stock at a rock bottom price of $7.48 per share.

At just $7.48 per share, Gore made a ridiculous amount of profit. The reason he was able to grab the stock at such a low price, is that he exercised his director stock options. Gore's 59,000 shares are worth a very nice $29.5 million, a nice profit as he only paid $440,000 for the stock. Gore was awarded 30,000 options when he joined the board of Apple in 2003 and at the time the stock in Apple was worth $14.95 per share.

Gore purchased 60,000 shares in Apple at the same price back in 2008, when Apple shares were worth $124 or so each. The Apple board member still has 61,574 share options available through his heavy discount options, even after this transaction has taken place.