Steve Jobs
Born 1955 · Age 71
Co-founder and longtime CEO of Apple Inc.; founder of NeXT; majority shareholder and chairman of Pixar; influential product visionary behind Macintosh, iMac, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iTunes, App Store and Apple retail.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in San Francisco; adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs
Steven Paul Jobs born to Joanne Schieble and Abdulfattah Jandali; placed for adoption and adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs.
Summer internship at Hewlett-Packard
Jobs cold-called Bill Hewlett, received parts and a summer job/internship at HP, his first exposure to Silicon Valley engineering culture.
Blue box phone-phreaking sales with Wozniak
Jobs and Steve Wozniak built and sold 'blue boxes' that allowed free long-distance calls — an early entrepreneurial activity.
Enrolled at Reed College (dropped out same year)
Jobs enrolled at Reed College but dropped out after one semester; later audited classes that interested him (notably calligraphy).
Joined Atari as technician; traveled to India
Worked at Atari as a technician; later traveled to India seeking spiritual enlightenment and studied Zen Buddhism on return.
First Apple I order from Paul Terrell (Byte Shop)
Byte Shop ordered 50 fully assembled Apple I units at $500 each, helping seed Apple's early production.
Co-founded Apple Computer Company
Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne founded Apple in Jobs's parents' home to develop and sell the Apple I.
Mike Markkula / Arthur Rock involvement and seed funding
Mike Markkula became an early sponsor and brought Apple to the attention of investor Arthur Rock; Arthur Rock made an early $60,000 investment.
Apple II introduced at West Coast Computer Faire
Apple II, largely designed by Wozniak with Jobs overseeing product design and marketing, launched and became Apple's first mass-market success.
Birth of daughter Lisa
Chrisann Brennan gave birth to Lisa; paternity denial and later legal settlement; the Apple Lisa computer later named (officially Jobs later admitted it was named for her).
Apple goes public (IPO)
Apple's IPO made Jobs a multimillionaire virtually overnight; his net worth rose into the hundreds of millions.
Took over Macintosh project
Jobs assumed control of the Macintosh project and strongly led its product, design and marketing vision.
Launch of Apple Lisa
Apple Lisa, a GUI-based business computer influenced by Xerox PARC ideas, was launched under Jobs' direction (commercially unsuccessful).
Recruitment of John Sculley as Apple CEO
Jobs recruited PepsiCo's John Sculley to be Apple's CEO, asking the famous 'Do you want to sell sugar water?' question.
Introduced Macintosh
Jobs introduced the Macintosh at Apple's annual shareholders meeting following the '1984' Super Bowl commercial; the Mac was the first mass-produced GUI computer.
Founded NeXT Inc. with $7 million
Jobs founded NeXT, focused on higher-education and business workstations; initial capitalization cited as $7 million.
Resigned from Apple; left after power struggle
After a board power struggle with CEO John Sculley, Jobs resigned from Apple and planned a new venture; several senior employees left with him.
Acquired Lucasfilm's Graphics Group (founded Pixar) for $10M
Jobs bought the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm for $10 million and spun it out as Pixar; $5M in capital and $5M for technology rights.
Pixar's Luxo Jr. unveiled at SIGGRAPH
Pixar unveiled John Lasseter's short film Luxo Jr., a breakthrough in computer animation that established Pixar's creative reputation.
Ross Perot invested $20M in NeXT
Ross Perot provided a $20 million investment in NeXT based on a roughly $125M valuation, providing crucial capital.
NeXT Cube unveiled (launch event)
Jobs held a lavish launch at Davies Symphony Hall to introduce the NeXT Cube workstation; significant PR event though hardware expensive.
Canon invested $100M in NeXT (valuation ~ $600M)
Canon invested $100 million in NeXT, reflecting strong investor interest in the company despite limited hardware sales.
NeXT hardware first released (priced $9,999)
NeXT released workstations priced at $9,999 targeted to higher-education and scientific users; technically advanced but costly.
Married Laurene Powell
Jobs married Laurene Powell in Yosemite; she would become his partner and key personal influence for decades.
NeXT discontinues hardware; becomes NeXT Software
After weak hardware sales (approx. 50,000 machines sold), NeXT shifted focus to software (NeXTSTEP) and licensing.
Pixar's Toy Story released (first all-CGI feature)
Toy Story (1995) — the first fully computer-animated feature film — was released, and Jobs credited as executive producer; commercial success for Pixar.
Became President & CEO of Pixar
Following Toy Story's development and increasing focus on Pixar, Jobs took an executive leadership role at the studio.
Pixar IPO; Jobs becomes billionaire (~$1.5B)
One week after Toy Story's release, Pixar went public; Jobs' stake made him a billionaire, with reported net worth around $1.5 billion.
NeXT WebObjects released (1996); later used for Apple Store
NeXT released WebObjects, a web application framework that Apple later used to build the Apple Store and other services.
Apple announced purchase of NeXT (return to Apple)
Apple agreed to acquire NeXT (deal announced Dec 1996 / closed 1997) for an amount reported around $400M–$429M; Jobs returned as advisor.
Launched 'Think Different' campaign
Marketing campaign to reposition Apple's brand and personality in culture; early step in Apple's turnaround.
Announced Apple Store (online)
Apple launched an online Apple Store (Nov 1997), enabling direct customer purchasing and customization.
Named interim CEO of Apple (returned to lead turn-around)
After Gil Amelio's ouster, Jobs became interim CEO and began restructuring Apple and installing his NeXT team.
Microsoft invested $150M in Apple and strategic partnership
Microsoft agreed to a $150 million investment and commitments to continue Office and Internet Explorer for Mac, shoring up Apple.
Introduced the iMac
Jobs unveiled the iMac, a consumer desktop with striking design that became a commercial hit and helped return Apple to profitability.
Appointed to Gap Inc. board (1999–2002)
Jobs served as a board member of Gap Inc. from 1999 until 2002.
Removed 'interim' label; became Apple CEO
Jobs dropped 'interim' and officially became Apple's CEO; adopted $1 annual salary symbolic of founder leadership.
Introduced iTunes
Jobs introduced iTunes (initially Mac only), laying groundwork for Apple's leading role in digital music.
Shipped Mac OS X 10.0 (Cheetah)
Mac OS X shipped after years of development built on NeXT technology—major technical milestone for Apple.
Opened first Apple Retail Stores
Apple opened its first retail stores in Tysons Corner, VA and Glendale, CA, beginning a highly successful direct retail channel.
Introduced the iPod
Jobs unveiled the iPod, which would transform Apple's business and the portable music market.
Introduced Windows-compatible iPods
Apple announced iPods compatible with Windows at Macworld, broadening its market beyond Mac users.
Diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor
Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer and initially pursued alternative treatments before surgery.
Opened iTunes Music Store (US)
Apple launched the iTunes Music Store in the United States after landmark deals with major labels; transformed music distribution.
iTunes for Windows introduced
Jobs announced iTunes for Windows, expanding iTunes' reach dramatically and accelerating the digital music business.
Tumor surgically removed
Jobs underwent surgery in August 2004 to remove his pancreatic tumor (reported at the time); returned to work thereafter.
Introduced iPod nano / iPod shuffle / iPod with video (multiple launches)
Under Jobs' product leadership Apple introduced multiple iPod variants (mini, nano, shuffle, video), keeping product momentum.
Stanford commencement speech ('Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish')
Jobs delivered a widely viewed and quoted commencement address at Stanford University with lasting cultural impact.
Appointed to The Walt Disney Company board
Following the Pixar acquisition, Jobs joined Disney's board of directors as the company's largest individual shareholder.
iTunes sold its billionth song
iTunes sold its billionth song (announced Feb 2, 2006) — a major milestone for Apple's digital media business.
Disney acquired Pixar for $7.4B; Jobs became Disney's largest shareholder
Disney purchased Pixar in an all-stock deal worth $7.4 billion; Jobs became the single largest Disney shareholder (~7%) and joined Disney's board.
Introduced the iPhone and renamed Apple Inc.
Jobs introduced the iPhone—redefining mobile phones—and changed the company name from Apple Computer, Inc. to Apple Inc.
Inducted into the California Hall of Fame
Jobs was inducted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger into the California Hall of Fame in recognition of his influence on technology and culture.
Introduced the App Store and MacBook Air
Apple launched the App Store (unleashing the app economy) and unveiled the MacBook Air, a thin-form laptop that would influence notebooks.
Took six-month medical leave (later received a liver transplant)
Jobs took an extended medical leave in 2009; he received a liver transplant in April 2009 that was widely reported.
First public appearance after liver transplant
Jobs returned to the public stage to unveil new iPods following his April 2009 liver transplant.
Apple discloses 200 million iOS devices sold
Apple announced it had sold 200 million iOS devices by January 2010, a major ecosystem milestone.
Introduced the iPad
Jobs unveiled the iPad tablet, calling it 'the biggest thing Apple's ever done' and initiating a major new product line.
iTunes sold 10 billion songs (by Feb 2010)
By Feb 24, 2010 Apple reported 10 billion songs sold via iTunes and 225 million iTunes accounts with credit cards by June 2011.
Negotiated Beatles catalog release on iTunes
Jobs announced that Beatles albums were available on iTunes, a notable music-rights and cultural milestone for the service.
Reported holdings (Apple & Disney stakes reported in 2011)
As of early 2011 Jobs reportedly owned 138 million Disney shares (~7.29%) and 5.426 million Apple shares, contributing to an estimated net worth ~ $8.3B.
Patents recognized (posthumous counts)
By and since his death Jobs has been associated with hundreds of patents; documents note 141 patents awarded since his death and over 450 overall.
App Store and App downloads milestone (2011)
By late 2011 the App Store facilitated tens of billions of downloads (reported 18B apps by Oct 2011), driving the iOS ecosystem.
Took medical leave from CEO post
Jobs took a medical leave of absence from the CEO role in January 2011 due to ongoing health issues.
Final public keynote at WWDC 2011 (iCloud)
Jobs gave his last keynote unveiling iCloud and other developer-facing services; his final major product keynote.
Apple became most valuable U.S. company by market cap (~$337.17B)
In August 2011 Apple overtook Exxon Mobil to become the most valuable U.S. company by market capitalization.
Resigned as Apple CEO; became Chairman
Jobs resigned as CEO, recommending Tim Cook as successor, and became chairman of Apple's board.
Died of tumor-related respiratory arrest
Jobs died at home in Palo Alto on October 5, 2011, after a long struggle with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor.
Posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom
President awarded Steve Jobs the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in recognition of his impact on technology and culture.
Key Achievement Ages
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