Steve Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, inventor, and business executive who co-founded Apple Inc. and served as its chairman and CEO, transforming it from a garage startup into the world's most valuable company. Widely regarded as one of the most influential business leaders in history, Jobs pioneered the personal computer revolution, reinvented the music industry with iTunes and the iPod, created the iPhone that redefined smartphones, and launched the iPad that established the tablet computer market.
Jobs's life was marked by dramatic highs and lows. Adopted at birth by working-class parents in Silicon Valley, he dropped out of college after one semester, traveled to India seeking spiritual enlightenment, and at 21 co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in his parents' garage. He was forced out of the company he created in 1985 after a power struggle with CEO John Sculley, only to return triumphantly in 1997 and lead Apple's resurrection from near-bankruptcy to global dominance. During his "wilderness years," Jobs founded NeXT and acquired Pixar, which he built into the most successful animation studio in history before selling it to The Walt Disney Company for $7.4 billion.
Known for his obsessive perfectionism, charismatic "reality distortion field," and often brutal management style, Jobs was a visionary who believed in the intersection of technology and the liberal arts. He died of pancreatic cancer on October 5, 2011, at age 56, leaving behind a legacy of innovation that continues to shape how billions of people communicate, work, and live. At his death, his net worth was estimated at $10.2 billion. In 2022, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Early life
Birth and adoption
Steven Paul Jobs was born on February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California, to Joanne Carole Schieble, an American Catholic of Swiss-German descent, and Abdulfattah "John" Jandali, a Syrian Muslim immigrant pursuing a PhD in political science at the University of Wisconsin. The couple's relationship faced opposition from Schieble's father due to Jandali's religion and ethnicity. When Schieble became pregnant, she traveled to San Francisco to give birth and arranged for a closed adoption.
The original couple selected to adopt the baby—a wealthy Catholic lawyer and his wife—changed their minds after the birth because they wanted a girl. Jobs was instead adopted by Paul Reinhold Jobs, a Coast Guard veteran and machinist, and Clara Jobs (née Hagopian), an accountant of Armenian descent. Schieble agreed to sign the final adoption papers only after Paul and Clara promised that Steve would be encouraged to attend college—despite neither of them being college graduates themselves.
Jobs's biological parents married shortly after his adoption and had another child, writer Mona Simpson, who became Jobs's close friend after they discovered each other as adults. Jobs did not search for his birth family until after his adoptive mother Clara's death in 1986, not wanting his parents to feel he didn't consider them his "real" parents. "I loved them so much that I never wanted them to know of my search," he later told biographer Walter Isaacson.
Childhood in Silicon Valley
The Jobs family moved from San Francisco to Mountain View, California, when Steve was five years old—placing him at the heart of what would become Silicon Valley. Paul Jobs worked as a machinist and later as a used car salesman, while Clara worked as a bookkeeper.
Paul Jobs had a profound influence on his son. He showed young Steve how to work on electronics in the family garage, teaching him to take apart and rebuild radios and televisions. The garage workshop instilled in Jobs both technical curiosity and an appreciation for craftsmanship that would later define Apple's products. Paul Jobs also taught his son the importance of building the back of a cabinet with the same care as the front—a lesson Jobs would apply to Apple's circuit boards, insisting they be beautiful even though customers would never see them.
Jobs displayed early signs of the rebellious, questioning nature that would characterize his career. He was frequently bored in school and got into trouble, but a fourth-grade teacher recognized his intelligence and bribed him to complete workbooks with candy and money. The strategy worked: Jobs tested at a tenth-grade level and skipped fifth grade entirely.
Education
High school and meeting Wozniak
Jobs attended Homestead High School in Cupertino, California, graduating in 1972. During high school, he developed a passion for electronics and began attending lectures at the Hewlett-Packard Explorers Club, where he first saw a computer.
At age 13, Jobs boldly called Hewlett-Packard co-founder Bill Hewlett directly to ask for parts for a school project. Hewlett was so impressed that he not only provided the parts but offered Jobs a summer job on the assembly line. The experience cemented Jobs's belief that anything was possible if you simply asked.
During his teenage years, Jobs met Steve Wozniak, a brilliant engineer five years his senior, through a mutual friend. Despite their age difference, the two bonded over electronics and a shared love of pranks. Wozniak later recalled that Jobs was one of the few people who understood his technical ideas and, more importantly, could envision how to turn them into products.
Reed College and dropping out
In fall 1972, Jobs enrolled at Reed College, a prestigious liberal arts school in Portland, Oregon, with tuition his working-class parents could barely afford. After just one semester, Jobs dropped out, feeling guilty about spending his parents' life savings on an education that seemed meaningless to him.
Rather than leaving campus, Jobs stayed at Reed for another 18 months, sleeping on friends' dormitory floors, returning Coke bottles for food money, and getting free meals at the local Hare Krishna temple. He continued auditing classes that interested him, including a calligraphy course taught by Robert Palladino that would profoundly influence his later work.
"If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts," Jobs said in his famous 2005 Stanford commencement address. The course opened his eyes to the beauty of typography—an obsession that would distinguish Apple products from their competitors for decades.
Spiritual journey to India
In mid-1974, Jobs traveled to India with his Reed College friend Daniel Kottke, searching for spiritual enlightenment. They intended to visit the ashram of Neem Karoli Baba, but discovered the guru had died the previous year. Jobs and Kottke spent seven months traveling across India, making a long trek to visit the ashram of Haidakhan Babaji.
Jobs returned to the United States transformed. His head was shaved, he wore traditional Indian clothing, and he had embraced Buddhism and vegetarianism—practices he would maintain for the rest of his life. The spiritual journey influenced his design philosophy: the minimalist aesthetic, the emphasis on intuition, and the Zen-like simplicity that would define Apple products all had roots in Jobs's Indian experience.
Jobs remained a practicing Zen Buddhist for the rest of his life. His wedding ceremony was performed by the Zen master Kōbun Chino Otogawa, and his pursuit of enlightenment informed both his personal life and professional vision.
Career
Atari and early work
After returning from India in 1974, Jobs took a job as a technician at Atari, the pioneering video game company. He worked the night shift, partly because his lack of personal hygiene—he believed his fruitarian diet eliminated body odor and rarely showered—made him unpopular with colleagues.
At Atari, Jobs was tasked with creating a circuit board for the arcade game Breakout. The task required minimizing the number of chips used, with Atari offering a bonus for each chip eliminated. Jobs enlisted Wozniak to help, promising to split the bonus. Wozniak completed the design in four days, reducing the chip count dramatically. Jobs collected approximately $5,000 in bonuses but told Wozniak the bonus was only $700, splitting that amount. Wozniak did not learn the truth until years later.
Founding Apple (1976)
In 1975, Wozniak began attending meetings of the Homebrew Computer Club, a gathering of electronics enthusiasts in Menlo Park. Inspired by the club, he designed what would become the Apple I computer—a circuit board that could be connected to a keyboard and television to create a functional personal computer.
Jobs immediately recognized the commercial potential. While Wozniak was content to give away his designs, Jobs convinced him to sell circuit boards to hobbyists. On April 1, 1976, Jobs, Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne founded Apple Computer Company. Wayne sold his 10% stake back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800 just 12 days later—shares that would eventually be worth billions.
The company operated out of Jobs's parents' garage on Crist Drive in Los Altos. Jobs handled sales while Wozniak focused on engineering. Their first major order—50 units for a local computer store called the Byte Shop—required Jobs to negotiate a 30-day loan from a parts supplier, demonstrating the salesmanship that would characterize his career.
The Macintosh and early Apple
The Apple II, launched in 1977, became one of the first commercially successful personal computers, establishing Apple as an industry leader. By 1980, Apple had gone public in one of the largest IPOs in American history, making Jobs worth over $200 million at age 25.
But Jobs's focus shifted to a new project: the Macintosh. Inspired by a visit to Xerox PARC, where he saw a graphical user interface and mouse-driven computing, Jobs became obsessed with creating a computer for "the rest of us"—one that ordinary people could use without technical expertise.
Jobs took control of the Macintosh project with evangelical zeal. He told his team they were "artists" creating a product that would change the world. The Macintosh team worked 90-hour weeks, driven by Jobs's ability to inspire—and his willingness to berate. Team members described his "reality distortion field": his ability to convince people that impossible deadlines were achievable through sheer force of will.
The Macintosh launched on January 24, 1984, with a Super Bowl commercial directed by Ridley Scott that depicted Apple as liberating humanity from conformity. The computer introduced the graphical user interface and mouse to the mass market. But despite critical acclaim, sales disappointed, and internal tensions mounted.
Leaving Apple (1985)
In 1983, Jobs had recruited John Sculley from Pepsi-Cola to serve as Apple's CEO, famously asking: "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?" But as Macintosh sales lagged, the two clashed over the company's direction.
In early 1985, the relationship deteriorated into open conflict. Jobs attempted to orchestrate a boardroom coup against Sculley; when Sculley learned of the plot, he demanded the board choose between them. On April 10, 1985, the board sided with Sculley, stripping Jobs of his operational responsibilities.
On September 17, 1985, Jobs resigned from Apple, selling all but one of his Apple shares and purchasing a mansion in Woodside, California. In his resignation letter, he stated his intention to start a new computer company, taking five senior Apple employees with him.
NeXT (1985–1997)
Jobs founded NeXT Inc. with $7 million of his own money and an additional $20 million investment from Ross Perot. The company aimed to build sophisticated workstations for higher education and business markets.
The NeXT Computer, released in 1988, was a technical marvel: a sleek magnesium cube with advanced hardware and an object-oriented operating system that was years ahead of its time. The machine's software environment, NeXTSTEP, would later form the foundation of Mac OS X and iOS.
But at $6,500 (later raised to $9,999), the NeXT Computer was too expensive for its target market. The company never achieved commercial success, though it found niche applications—Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web on a NeXT computer at CERN.
Despite NeXT's struggles, Jobs learned valuable lessons. He became a more patient, thoughtful manager. He refined his understanding of what customers wanted versus what they thought they wanted. And he built a software platform that would prove crucial to Apple's future.
Pixar (1986–2006)
In 1986, Jobs purchased the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm for $10 million, spinning it off as Pixar. Initially, the company focused on selling hardware—the Pixar Image Computer—and software. But Jobs became captivated by the animated short films the team created to demonstrate their technology.
Pixar's hardware business struggled, selling only about 100 units at $135,000 each. Jobs poured millions into the company to keep it afloat, at times contemplating selling it to companies including Hallmark, Microsoft, and Oracle. By the early 1990s, Jobs had invested over $50 million of his own money.
The turning point came in 1991, when Pixar signed a $26 million deal with Disney to produce three computer-animated feature films. The first, Toy Story, released in 1995, became the highest-grossing film of the year and revolutionized animation. When Pixar went public on November 29, 1995, it exceeded Netscape's as the year's biggest IPO, and Jobs's stake was worth over $1 billion.
Pixar went on to produce A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles—all critical and commercial successes. In January 2006, Disney acquired Pixar for $7.4 billion in stock, making Jobs Disney's largest individual shareholder with approximately 7% of the company and a seat on the board.
Return to Apple (1997–2011)
By 1996, Apple was struggling. The company had lost money for years, and its operating system was aging. CEO Gil Amelio decided Apple needed to acquire a new operating system—and NeXT's software was among the candidates.
In December 1996, Apple announced the acquisition of NeXT for $429 million, bringing Jobs back to the company he had co-founded. Initially, Jobs served as an informal advisor, but his influence grew rapidly. In July 1997, Amelio was ousted, and Jobs became interim CEO—or "iCEO," as he called it.
Jobs immediately began restructuring Apple. He killed underperforming product lines, reducing Apple's offerings from 350 to 10. He ended the Macintosh clone licensing program and forged a surprising partnership with Microsoft, which invested $150 million in Apple and committed to developing Office for Mac.
The "Think Different" era
Jobs launched the "Think Different" advertising campaign, celebrating creative rebels from Albert Einstein to Muhammad Ali. The campaign signaled Apple's return to its innovative roots—and set the stage for a series of groundbreaking products.
In 1998, Apple introduced the iMac, an all-in-one computer with a translucent colorful shell that looked like nothing else in the industry. The iMac sold 800,000 units in its first five months and established Apple's design-forward identity under Jobs and designer Jony Ive.
iPod and iTunes
In October 2001, Apple launched the iPod, a portable music player with an innovative scroll wheel and the tagline "1,000 songs in your pocket." The device revolutionized how people listened to music and established Apple in consumer electronics.
The iPod's success was amplified by iTunes, Apple's music software, and the iTunes Store, launched in 2003. By making it easy to legally purchase and download individual songs for $0.99, Apple transformed the music industry and dealt a fatal blow to piracy-driven services like Napster.
iPhone
On January 9, 2007, Jobs delivered what many consider the greatest product presentation in business history. At the Macworld Expo in San Francisco, he announced that Apple was introducing three revolutionary products: "a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device." As the audience realized these were one device, Jobs unveiled the iPhone.
The iPhone, released on June 29, 2007, redefined smartphones. Its multi-touch interface, app ecosystem, and elegant design made previous smartphones obsolete overnight. The device generated $150 billion in revenue in its first decade and spawned an industry of imitators.
iPad
In January 2010, Jobs introduced the iPad, a tablet computer that critics initially dismissed as merely a "big iPhone." The iPad went on to create an entirely new product category, selling over 500 million units and transforming industries from publishing to education.
Controversies
Lisa Brennan-Jobs and denied paternity
One of the most troubling chapters of Jobs's life involved his treatment of his first daughter, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, born in 1978 to his on-and-off girlfriend Chrisann Brennan. Jobs denied paternity for years, even swearing in a court document that he was "sterile and infertile" and lacked "the physical capacity to procreate a child."
When a DNA test established a 94.1% probability of paternity, Jobs responded by arguing that "28% of the male population of the United States could be the father"—a mathematically nonsensical claim. A California court ordered him to pay $385 per month in child support and reimburse the state for welfare payments Brennan had received. Even after Apple went public and Jobs became worth hundreds of millions, he increased payments only to $500 per month.
For years, Lisa and her mother lived in poverty while Jobs accumulated wealth. The Apple Lisa computer, released in 1983, was named after his daughter—though Jobs claimed the name stood for "Local Integrated System Architecture." He admitted the truth to biographer Walter Isaacson years later.
Jobs eventually reconciled with Lisa, acknowledging her and apologizing for his behavior. "I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of, such as getting my girlfriend pregnant when I was 23 and the way I handled that," he said in 2011 while promoting his authorized biography.
Management style and the "reality distortion field"
Jobs was notorious for his demanding, often abusive management style. The term "reality distortion field" (RDF), coined by early Macintosh team member Bud Tribble, described Jobs's ability to convince himself and others to believe almost anything through "a mix of charm, charisma, bravado, hyperbole, marketing, appeasement and persistence."
While the RDF inspired teams to achieve seemingly impossible goals, it also created a toxic environment. Jobs routinely told engineers their work was "shit," reduced employees to tears, and fired people in elevator rides. His belief in "A players"—that excellent people should only work with other excellent people—led him to be ruthlessly dismissive of those he considered mediocre.
Bill Gates claimed to be immune to Jobs's reality distortion field, saying, "I was like a minor wizard because he would be casting spells, and I would see people mesmerized, but because I'm a minor wizard, the spells don't work on me."
Stock options backdating
In 2006, Apple was investigated for backdating stock options—manipulating grant dates to increase their value. An internal investigation found that Jobs had been aware of the practice, though the company's Special Committee concluded he did not benefit financially and was not fully aware of the accounting implications.
The SEC ultimately did not charge Jobs, but the scandal tarnished Apple's reputation for integrity. Two former Apple executives faced charges, and the company restated earnings by $84 million.
Treatment of employees and conditions at suppliers
Critics accused Jobs of prioritizing products over people. Apple's secrecy culture, while protecting product launches, created a paranoid work environment. Reports of poor conditions at Apple's Chinese suppliers, including Foxconn, raised questions about corporate responsibility that Jobs never fully addressed.
Personal life
Relationship with Laurene Powell
In October 1989, Jobs gave a lecture at Stanford Business School. Laurene Powell, a first-year MBA student, arrived late and ended up seated next to Jobs in the front row. Jobs later recalled, "I couldn't take my eyes off of her... kept losing my train of thought, and started feeling a little giddy."
After the lecture, Jobs found Powell in the parking lot and invited her to dinner. "I was in the parking lot with the key in the car, and I thought, 'If this is my last night on earth, would I rather spend it at a business meeting or with this woman?'" They had dinner that night and were together for the rest of his life.
Jobs proposed on New Year's Day 1990. They married on March 18, 1991, in a traditional Buddhist ceremony at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park, presided over by Zen master Kōbun Chino Otogawa. The vegan wedding cake was shaped like Half Dome, the iconic rock formation overlooking the venue.
Children
Jobs and Laurene Powell Jobs had three children together:
- Reed Jobs (born September 1991) – Named after Reed College, Reed studied cancer research and is involved in philanthropy
- Erin Siena Jobs (born 1995) – Works in architecture and design
- Eve Jobs (born 1998) – Professional equestrian and fashion model
Jobs was also father to:
- Lisa Brennan-Jobs (born 1978) – Daughter with Chrisann Brennan, author of the memoir Small Fry
Diet and lifestyle
Jobs was a committed vegetarian and often followed more extreme diets, including fruitarian periods where he ate only fruits, nuts, and seeds. He believed his diet reduced body odor, justifying his aversion to showering—a habit that caused friction with colleagues throughout his career.
Jobs practiced Zen Buddhism and maintained a minimalist lifestyle. His home in Palo Alto was sparsely furnished, reflecting his belief that design should eliminate the unnecessary. He famously wore the same outfit daily—black turtleneck, Levi's 501 jeans, and New Balance sneakers—to eliminate decision fatigue.
Homes
Jobs lived in a modest house in Palo Alto, California, for most of his adult life—a stark contrast to the mansions of other tech billionaires. The home, which he purchased in 1991, had minimal security and was not gated. He also owned a mansion in Woodside, California, that he purchased after leaving Apple in 1985.
Health and death
Cancer diagnosis and treatment
In October 2003, Jobs was diagnosed with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor during a routine scan. Unlike the common form of pancreatic cancer (adenocarcinoma), which is almost always fatal within months, neuroendocrine tumors are often treatable if caught early.
Jobs resisted his doctors' recommendations for surgery for nine months, instead pursuing alternative treatments including dietary changes, acupuncture, herbal remedies, and consultations with a psychic. When he finally agreed to surgery in July 2004, the tumor had spread. Jobs later acknowledged that the delay may have been a mistake.
In 2009, Jobs took a medical leave of absence from Apple and received a liver transplant in Tennessee, where the waiting list was shorter than in California. He returned to work but his health continued to decline.
Resignation and death
On August 24, 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple, writing to the board: "I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come." He recommended that Tim Cook succeed him.
Six weeks later, on October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs died at his home in Palo Alto, surrounded by his wife, children, and sisters. He was 56 years old. His last words, according to his sister Mona Simpson, were "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow."
Apple's homepage displayed a black-and-white photograph of Jobs with the words "Steve Jobs: 1955–2011." Flags flew at half-staff at Apple's Cupertino headquarters, and tributes poured in from world leaders, competitors, and ordinary people whose lives he had touched.
Legacy
Patents and innovation
Jobs was listed as an inventor or co-inventor on 346 United States patents during his lifetime, with over 140 more granted posthumously—bringing his total to over 450 patents. These cover innovations ranging from the design of Apple products to user interface elements and packaging.
Impact on industries
Jobs transformed multiple industries:
- Personal computers – The Macintosh introduced graphical interfaces to the mass market
- Music – iTunes and iPod ended the CD era and legitimized digital music distribution
- Smartphones – The iPhone redefined mobile computing and spawned the app economy
- Tablets – The iPad created a new product category
- Animated film – Pixar pioneered computer animation
- Retail – Apple Stores established a new model for technology retail
Posthumous honors
- Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022) – Awarded posthumously by President Joe Biden
- Grammy Trustees Award (2012) – For contributions to the music industry
- Named one of Time's "Most Influential People of the 20th Century"
Wealth and inheritance
At his death, Jobs's net worth was estimated at $10.2 billion, primarily from his Disney stock (138 million shares acquired through the Pixar sale) and Apple shares. Laurene Powell Jobs inherited the majority of his estate and has since become one of the world's wealthiest women, with an estimated net worth exceeding $14 billion in 2024.
Unlike many tech billionaires, Jobs did not sign the Giving Pledge and was not notably philanthropic during his lifetime, though his widow has become a major philanthropist through the Emerson Collective.
See also
References