All these headlines are from stories in the last ten months. Today the landscape is very different.

Such a turnaround might suggest that Silicon Valley, which made its fortune in high tech, was on the slide.

But this is far from the case, as illustrated in a newly published survey from Gallup. That study shows that in the Valley, more people here than anywhere in the world, own stock options and generally command a six figure salary.

Santa Clara county is home to some of the world's biggest names in high tech - Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Apple, and Yahoo. There one in three households have stock options.

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In San Mateo, further up the Peninsula, the figure is 23% and in San Francisco it's 21%.

The non-profit National Center for Employee Ownership puts the national figure at between 3 and 5%. Its head, Corey Rosen says these statistics are food for thought.

"The people who were given capital in the last generation were the people who got wealthy and the people who just worked for a living didn't.

So it's quite rational to say 'I want some ownership because I am contributing to the real asset of this corporation and this is how I am going to develop wealth'."

Wealth of evidence

Despite the market nosedive, the evidence of wealth is still all too obvious in Silicon Valley where the median house price is more than $500,000 and people drive $40,000 sports utility vehicles.

For 30-year-old New Zealander Victoria Davies, owning a piece of the action is compensation for working in the turbulent dot.com industry.

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"It's a critical part of the package. Originally Silicon Valley gave you a piece of the company because one, they weren't going to pay you as much as the big corporations and two to incentivise you to make sure the company succeeds."

It's a philosophy Corey Rosen applauds. "These companies are essentially saying everybody here counts."

In March the Nasdaq topped out at over 5000 sending the value of most internet and high tech companies into the stratosphere. And anyone with a dot.com idea had money thrust at them by eager venture capitalists trying to discover the next big thing.

Today with the Nasdaq under 3000, reality has bitten good and hard. This year alone 130 firms have gone to the wall and 8000 employees have been given pink slips.

The money I made out of those options I lost on the market

Victoria Davies

In October Victoria Davies was one of them. Her company was forced to change business plans mid stride. Silicon Valley speak for cutback or go bust.

She left with 40,000 shares at five cents each. They aren't worth the paper they're written on, but if the company goes public they could make her a small fortune.

"I know people who've made a significant amount of money out of their options but that's been to do with timing. For every one story you hear of someone who makes a lot of money, there's another ten who never made any."

Easy money?

And that includes Victoria herself who cashed in 15,000 shares from her first internet job. While being coy about her profit, she admits the vagaries of the market got her in the end.

"The money I made out of those options, I lost on the market. I found that incredibly ironic."

Silicon Valley - the "haves"

85% own stock $103,000 - median household income 83% have retirement plan 95% have internet access

Today Victoria is the director of service delivery for SlamDunk Networks.com, which deals with secure business to business commerce transactions.

On top of her $100,000-plus salary and health benefits, she has 20,000 shares. And with it, a new-found realism born of experience.

"I don't look at it as my ticket to being a millionaire because I really don't think it's that easy."

Silicon Valley - the "have nots"

35% own stock $51,000 - median household income 33% have retirement plan 65% have internet access Source: 2000 Gallup Poll of Media Use and Consumer Behaviour

The company's recruitment manger Lotti Marie Lawlis agrees that while more people own options, few regard regard them as a get rich quick guarantee.

"Stock doesn't have as much influence as it did a year ago because of all the dot.com failures, so some people prefer a higher salary in lieu of options."

That attitude shift is impacting on leading e-tailer, Amazon.com which is fiercely resisting moves among employees to unionize.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos: Everyone's an owner

Previous efforts failed largely because workers were delighted with their high value stock options. In today's market, that paper profit has disappeared along with workers' confidence.

And with Amazon yet to make a profit, employees are more worried about their jobs after the Christmas rush and following layoffs last January. Owner Jeff Bezos claims "everyone in this company is an owner. We don't need unions in Amazon.com."

But customer-service worker Kirk Sheldon sees it differently. "Our ownership feels hollow," he says.