Steve Jobs

From Adopted Child to Revolutionizing Six Industries

tech creative business
Steve Jobs

Net Worth

$10.2B

Born

February 24, 1955 (died age 56)

Country

United States

Occupation

Entrepreneur, Inventor, Business Magnate

Gender

male

Generation

Boomer

Marital Status

married

Children

4

Single Parent Household

No

Education

College Dropout

University

Reed College

Industries

tech, creative, business

Wealth Category

billionaire

Wealth Origin

self-made

First-Gen Wealth

Yes

Overcame

  • • Given up for adoption at birth
  • • Dropped out of Reed College after one semester
  • • Fired from Apple, the company he founded, in 1985
  • • Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003; battled illness for 8 years

Steve Jobs was an American entrepreneur and business magnate who co-founded Apple Computer Company. He is widely recognized as a pioneer of the personal computer revolution and one of the most influential entrepreneurs in history. He also co-founded Pixar Animation Studios and NeXT, and transformed industries including personal computing, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

Career Timeline

1955

Born in San Francisco; adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs

1972 Age 17
Turning Point

Dropped out of Reed College after one semester but audited classes

1974 Age 19
Turning Point

Traveled to India seeking spiritual enlightenment

1976 Age 21
Milestone

Co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Wozniak in garage

1977 Age 22
Milestone

Apple II launched, revolutionizing personal computing

1980 Age 25
Milestone

Apple went public; Jobs became a millionaire

1984 Age 29
Milestone

Macintosh launched with iconic '1984' Super Bowl commercial

1985 Age 30
Setback

Fired from Apple after power struggle with board

1986 Age 31
Turning Point

Founded NeXT Computer; bought Pixar for $10 million

1995 Age 40
Milestone

Pixar released Toy Story; went public; Jobs became billionaire

1997 Age 42
Milestone

Returned to Apple when it acquired NeXT

1998 Age 43
Achievement

Launched iMac; began Apple's turnaround

2001 Age 46
Milestone

Launched iPod; opened first Apple Stores

2003 Age 48
Milestone

Launched iTunes Store; diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

2007 Age 52
Milestone

Launched iPhone; revolutionized mobile phones

2010 Age 55
Milestone

Launched iPad; created tablet computer market

2011 Age 56

Died on October 5 after long battle with cancer

Notable Quotes

"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do."

— Stanford Commencement Speech, 2005

"Stay hungry, stay foolish."

— Stanford Commencement Speech, 2005

"Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."

— Interview, 2004

"You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward."