Steve Case Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Steve Case
OCCUPATION: Business Leader
BIRTH DATE: August 21, 1958 (Age: 54)
EDUCATION: Williams College
PLACE OF BIRTH: Honolulu, Hawaii
Full Name: Stephen McConnell Case
ZODIAC SIGN: Leo

Best Known For

Steve Case co-founded and served as CEO of America Online (AOL), overseeing the massive merger that created AOL Time Warner Inc. He served as chairman of AOL Time Warner Inc. until his resignation in 2003.

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Steve Case

APA Style

Steve Case. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 02:44, May 23, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/steve-case-40879.

Harvard Style

Steve Case. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/steve-case-40879 [Accessed 23 May 2013].

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"Steve Case." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 23 2013, 02:44 http://www.biography.com/people/steve-case-40879.

MHRA Style

"Steve Case," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/steve-case-40879 [accessed May 23, 2013].

Chicago Style

"Steve Case," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/steve-case-40879 (accessed May 23, 2013).

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Steve Case [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 23] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/steve-case-40879.

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Steve Case, http://www.biography.com/people/steve-case-40879 (last visited May 23, 2013).

AMA Style

Steve Case. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/steve-case-40879. Accessed May 23, 2013.

In late 1998, the company purchased longtime rival CompuServe and in March 1999, bought Netscape, becoming the largest and most significant online player in the industry. So significant was the purchase of AOL, in fact, that Bill Gates' lawyers argued that the U.S. Justice Department should drop its antitrust suit against Microsoft, which now faced stiffer competition in the online arena.

AOL Time Warner Merger

In January 2000, AOL announced that it would purchase Time Warner Inc. (the world's largest media and entertainment company) for $166 billion in stock. Time Warner's extended list of media holdings include: CNN and HBO; Time, People and Sports Illustrated magazines; and the Warner Bros. film, television, and music properties. Case was appointed chairman of the new media conglomerate (to be named AOL Time Warner Inc.), while Gerald Levin, the then chairman and CEO of Time Warner, was named chief executive officer. The AOL Time Warner merger—the biggest in history—was finalized and approved by the U.S. government in early 2001.

Under Case's direction, AOL partnered with Sprint PCS and Nokia in order to expand AOL's services from desktop computers to wireless media (cellular phones, pagers, and electronic organizers). Despite these efforts, the company's share price continued to plummet, and in January 2003, Case resigned from his post.

In 2011, Case was selected by President Barack Obama to serve as chairman of the Startup America Partnership.