The most admired personality when it comes to being an innovator, Steve was worth $200 million by 25, he made the cover of Time magazine at 26, and was thrown out of the company at age 30, in 1985.One of the great things about Steve Jobs is what comes out of his mouth and the function that his brain does while bringing the ideas float with his team.
“I’ve always wanted to own and control the primary technology in everything we do.” said Steve. Steven Paul Jobs (born 1955-02-24) is currently the Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc., a company he founded with Steve Wozniak in 1976. He was also the CEO of Pixar Animation Studios until it was acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 2006. Jobs is currently the Walt Disney Company’s largest individual shareholder and a member of its Board of Directors. He is considered a leading figure in both the computer and entertainment industries.
When Jobs returned in 1997 to Apple – then facing its own near-death experience – he arrived with a tarnished legend. He was, of course, the charismatic boy wonder who at age 21 had co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in his parents’ garage back in 1976.
“Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It’s not about money. It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.” said in 1998 just after a year when he came back.
On the brink of bankruptcy when he returned, Apple now has a market value of $108 billion – more than Merck, McDonald’s, or Goldman Sachs; $1,000 invested in Apple shares on the day Jobs took over is worth about $36,000 today. And it isn’t just Apple and its investors that have benefited from Jobs’ executive skill. Pixar, where he served simultaneously as CEO, has come to dominate the animation business, churning out megahits like “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles” that prompted Disney (DIS, Fortune 500) to buy the company in 2006 for $7.5 billion. (Jobs now owns 7.3% of Disney, worth $4.6 billion, in addition to Apple stock worth $682 million.)
