Steve Jobs

Quick Facts

• Born: February 24, 1955 — San Francisco, California
• Died: October 5, 2011 — Palo Alto, California (age 56)
• Role: Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc.
• Also Founded: NeXT, Pixar (acquired, then sold to Disney)
• Net Worth at Death: ~$10.2 billion
• Known For: Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple Stores

Early Life

Jobs was born to Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali, unmarried graduate students who put him up for adoption. He was adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, a working-class couple in Mountain View, California—the heart of what would become Silicon Valley.

His father Paul was a machinist who taught Steve how to work with his hands and instilled a love of craftsmanship. Jobs later credited this upbringing with his obsession over the details that users would never see—like the inside of a computer case.

He attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon, but dropped out after one semester. He continued auditing classes, including a famous calligraphy course that would later influence the Mac's beautiful typography.

Founding Apple

In 1976, Jobs co-founded Apple Computer Company with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in his parents' garage. Wozniak was the engineering genius; Jobs was the visionary who understood how to package and sell technology to regular people.

Key Milestones

• 1976 — Apple I released, hand-built by Wozniak
• 1977 — Apple II launched, becoming one of the first successful mass-produced PCs
• 1980 — Apple goes public, making Jobs worth $250 million at age 25
• 1984 — Macintosh introduced with the famous "1984" Super Bowl ad
• 1985 — Power struggle with CEO John Sculley; Jobs forced out of Apple

The Wilderness Years (1985-1997)

After leaving Apple, Jobs founded NeXT Computer, which created an advanced operating system that would eventually become the foundation for macOS and iOS.

He also acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm, which became Pixar. Under his leadership, Pixar released Toy Story (1995)—the first fully computer-animated feature film—and went on to become the most successful animation studio in history.

Jobs later said getting fired from Apple was "the best thing that could have ever happened" to him. It freed him to be creative and led to some of the most productive years of his life.

Return to Apple

In 1997, Apple acquired NeXT for $429 million, bringing Jobs back. He became interim CEO ("iCEO") and quickly streamlined the company's bloated product line, famously drawing a simple four-quadrant grid: Consumer/Pro × Desktop/Portable.

The Second Act

• 1998 — iMac launches, saves Apple from bankruptcy
• 2001 — iPod + iTunes revolutionize the music industry
• 2007 — iPhone announced—"An iPod, a phone, and an internet communicator"
• 2008 — App Store launches, creating the app economy
• 2010 — iPad creates the tablet category
• 2011 — Jobs passes away, one day after iPhone 4S announcement

Philosophy & Approach

Jobs was famous for his obsessive attention to detail, "reality distortion field," and uncompromising standards. He believed in the intersection of technology and liberal arts, creating products that were as beautiful as they were functional.

"Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works."

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."

Key Principles

• Simplicity — Remove everything unnecessary
• Focus — Say no to 1,000 things to say yes to one
• End-to-end control — Own the entire experience
• Details matter — Even the parts users never see
• Think different — Don't follow the market, create it

Legacy

Jobs passed away on October 5, 2011, from complications of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. He was 56 years old. The world lost one of its greatest innovators, but his influence continues through every Apple product and the countless entrepreneurs he inspired.

In 2022, President Biden posthumously awarded Jobs the Presidential Medal of Freedom, recognizing his contributions to technology and American innovation.