Steve Jobs Facts

Contents

Steve Jobs Facts – #50 Cool Facts (Bio)

Steve Jobs Facts - Biography

Steve Jobs Facts – Biography

Wonder Years of Steve Jobs


1. Steve Jobs Was Not Born Rich

Steve Jobs is not born a millionaire.

He is adopted as a child by Paul and Clara Jobs and spends a life with practically no money.

He has a bottle-collecting job that earns him only a few dollars to buy a decent meal once a week.

However, what he does have is passion and intellect, which makes him soar to heights of success once he starts Apple.


2. Wonder Boy with Technology

Steve Jobs is a wonder boy with technology, even as a child.

He loves to ponder over how things are made and assembled.

Perhaps his biggest eight-grade achievement is a summer internship offer by the acclaimed Hewlett Packard Corporation!


Studies of Steve Jobs


3. Attends Reeds College

As a student, Job’s biography has little to narrate!

Even though he attends Reeds College for 18 months, guess which course attracts him the most- Calligraphy.


4. Attends the Calligraphy Classes at the Reed’s College Secretly

Secretly attending the calligraphy classes at the Reed’s College helps Steve Jobs design the alphabetic letters for his Macintosh Computers, pixel by pixel and down into the spaces between the letters.


5. Reason For Dropping Out of Reed’s College

The reason why Steve Jobs drops out of Reed’s College is that he ‘can’t see the value in it.’

He believes he is not gaining the knowledge, he needs and that it is a waste of money for his parents.

He believes it is ‘one of the best decisions’, he ever makes.


6. Time Spent at the Reed’s College After Dropping Out

He spends eighteen months at the Reed’s College even after dropping out.

This is the time when he sleeps on the floors in his friends’ rooms, selling coke bottles to collect money and has his meals at the local temple.


Career of Steve Jobs


7. Apple is Named After Beatles ‘Apple Records’

It is a known fact for most of us that Apple is co-founded by Steve jobs and his college dropout friend, Steve Wozniak, in Steve’s family garage.

Steve Jobs Photo 1 - Celebrity Fun Facts

Steve Jobs House

However, what is a surprise is that Jobs has named his company Apple after being inspired by the Beatles ‘Apple Records’, who starts using this name in the 1960s.

First Apple logo

First Apple logo

A legal battle pursues and both parties settle the case in 2007.


8. Steve Has Made Apple a Household Name

Steve Jobs is arguably the first person to make computer stores accessible to the general public.

His ideology behind having Apple stores in the major hubs of towns is to make Apple a household name and to set a trend of personal computers that is not a very widespread one back in the 1900s.


9. Establishment of Computer Company NeXT

When jobs leaves Apple, he creates the computer company NeXT in 1985 which is later purchased by Apple in 1996 for $429 million.

NeXT’s OPENSTEP is the foundation for the iOS and OS X operating systems today.


10. Steve Jobs Goes Bankrupt After Creating Pixar

Do you know that when Steve Jobs has created Pixar, he has almost gone bankrupt? It is due to his heavy Research and Development investments in Apple as well as his software adventures in NeXT.

This is when he realizes that the way out is to be innovative.


11. Steve Jobs First Computer

In 1977, Steve Jobs first computer, the Apple II, is also the first commercial desktop computer that the public accepts.

Forbes magazine says that the success of Apple II makes Steve Jobs believes that computer ‘design can bridge the gap between computers and ordinary people’.

Steve Jobs’ 1984 creation of the Macintosh is the first GUI computer with a mouse.

It is spot on for Jobs’ aim to bridge the gap.

Every Microsoft computer follows suit soon.


12. Steve Jobs Quits as the CEO of Apple

When Steve Jobs quits as the CEO of Apple in August of 2011, the company’s shares go down five percent within hours of his very public announcement even though he has been on a medical leave since the beginning of the year.

Forbes magazine reports the impact on his other business adventures as well.

Since Steve Jobs death, the market shares of both his companies, Pixar and Apple, have only gone up and they have kept soaring.


13. Best Years of Steve Jobs and His Company

At the time of his death, Steve Jobs’ net worth is at $7 billion.

Just shy of a $1.3 billion from the month he quits Apple for good.

2011 and 2008 are the best years for Steve Jobs and his company Apple (during his life).


14. Steve’s Effort to Transfer and Distribute Digital Music

With iTunes, Steve Jobs creates a legal source to transfer and distribute digital music.

The iTunes store comes soon after the file sharing company Napster is sued by the recording industry over copyright infringement issues.


Death of Steve Jobs: October 5, 2011


15. Steve Jobs is Diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer

When Steve Jobs is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, his doctors tell him he has a few months to survive.

Steve Jobs lives for another eight years after the diagnosis.


16. Uses Natural Herbs and Organics Fruits for Cancer Treatment

His love for natural herbs and organics fruits and vegetables make him experiment for a cure to his cancer soon after his diagnosis.

He avoids treatment and surgery for many months.

He also fasts regularly over this period believing it would cure his disease.


17. Bill Gates’ Letter to Steve Jobs on his deathbed

A few months before Steve Jobs’ death, he meets with Bill Gates and spends hours discussing the future and reminiscing about the past.

When Steve Jobs’ is on his deathbed, Bill Gates writes him a letter to remind him of his great accomplishments and to acknowledge the four children he is leaving behind, whom Gates has personally come to know.


Family of Steve Jobs


18. Parents and Siblings

An interesting fact about Steve’s biography is that his biological father is a Syrian called Jandali, who marries Joanne Carole after they give up Steve for adoption.

His biological sister is the famous author Mona Simpson, whom he meets years later when he is 27 years old.


19. Loving Father

There is more to the Silicon Valley giant than technology.

Steve Jobs is an amazing father who loves spending time with his three children, Reed Paul, Erin Sienna, Eve and his wife.

Taking them for horse riding, concerts and shows are one of his favorite pastimes.


Personal Interests of Steve Jobs


20. Jobs’ Music Library

Jobs’ music library on his iPod is not just a random collection of hits.

The Bettles, Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys and John Mayer are some of the big names whose music he loves because he can relate to their values and beliefs.


21. Steve Jobs is a ‘Pescetarian’

Steve Jobs is a ‘pescetarian’ by nature.

Of his favorite foods, fish tops the list.

Walter Issacson’s biography of Steve Jobs reveals that he is fond of eating carrots and apples and can live on these two fruits for days on end!


22. Steve Jobs Likes to Stroll Around in His House Barefoot

In 1997, the then President Bill Clinton visits Jobs’ home to meet the Silicon Valley executives.

He and his wife reportedly serve vegan food and wine.

It is also reported by Time Magazine that Steve Jobs likes to stroll around his $4 million houses in Palo Alto barefoot.


23. Steve Jobs is a Fruitarian

Do you know that Steve Jobs is a fruitarian? He cultivates apples during that period at a hippie commune.

This fruitarian job inspires him to become a vegan.

He enjoys dairy, whole foods and vegetables.


Personality of Steve Jobs


24. Steve Jobs’ Dressing

An eccentric fact about Jobs himself is that during his lifetime he owns close to 100 pairs of Levis Jeans! Being his staple wardrobe, Jobs prefers to dress simply yet make a statement with his signature black T-shirt and blue jeans.


25. Romantic by Nature

Steve asks out Laurene Powell in Stanford University’s parking lot after speaking there at a seminar! Steve is a romantic by nature, dating Joan Baez and Lisa Birnbach for a while and then having a blind date with Diane Keaton, Steve oozes class in every aspect of his life.


26. Steve is a Strict Boss

Being a strict boss, he is often heard yelling ‘fire yourself’ at his employees when they do not work up to his standards.

Highlighting his warmer side, Steve Jobs dresses up as Santa Claus in 1986 at NeXT and hands $100 bills to all his employees.


27. Steve’s Taste for Simplicity is Visible in Apple Stores

Steve Jobs does not bring simplicity just to the design of Apple devices; his taste for simplicity is also reflected in his Apple stores.

After the Apple revolution, Steve Jobs creates the Apple mini-stores that have simple white walls.

Inspired by these stories, Samsung is starting their mini-stores at Best Buy this year.


28. Steve is a Vegan

Even though he sometimes allows himself to eat fish for its health benefits, he is strictly a vegan (or a pescetarian to be precise).

The rest of his food habits revolve around the basic vegetarian diet.


29. Steve Jobs is Perfect in his Personal Life

His biological sister and acclaimed writer, Mona Simpson has told the media that Steve Jobs is perfect in his personal life as well.

She says that Steve Jobs and his wife, Laurene, have the kitchen of his Palo Alto house remodeled and it takes them years to finish.

Where do they cook meanwhile? She says they cook in the garage over a hotplate all those years.


30. Steve Jobs Believes in Reincarnation

In the biographical book, Steve Jobs, the writer also reports Jobs’ believes in reincarnation even though he does not follow any particular religion.

The book reports that Steve Jobs thinks that there is more to life than ‘meets the eye.’

He also believes that after you die with years of experience and gained wisdom, you leave something behind that survives.


Charity & Steve Jobs


31. Donation of $150 million to the Helen Diller Cancer Center

New York Times has once reported that Steve Jobs has donated $150 million to the University of California’s Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Before that, he has reportedly refused to sign the pledge with world billionaires to give away half of their wealth to charity.


Accolades for Steve Jobs


32. Appears in the Fortune’s List of the Toughest Bosses in America

Jobs philosophy of leading Apple Inc. is a combination of energy, discipline and charisma.

He believes in being strict when he needs to because the rules and discipline matter to him.

In 1993, he makes it to Fortune’s list of the Toughest Bosses in America!


33. ‘IPhone 4 Steve’

Rumor has it that one of the latest versions of the iPhone, the iPhone 4s,has been named in the wake of Steve Jobs death, standing for ‘iPhone 4 Steve.’

For all that, the young CEO does for Apple Inc., this is definitely a commendable gesture.


Steve Jobs: Inspirational


34. Memorable Words of Wisdom by Steve Jobs

Referring to the turning moment of his life, the daring year when he drops out of college, Steve Jobs gives some of the greatest advice to the graduates of Stanford University during his commencement speech in 2005.

His speech ends with these four memorable words of wisdom that he reads on the back of The Whole Earth Catalog: ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish’.


35. Jobs is Full of Inspiration and Positivity

Steve Jobs is not an ordinary man.

He is full of inspiration and positivity, both of which are the ingredients of his creativity.

After being fired as Apple CEO, all Steve has to say is that the episode ‘frees’ him and ‘is one of the most creative periods of his life.’


36. Most Competitive Employee

Steve is one of the most competitive employees ever! When Wozniak is named employee #1, Steve works so hard to beat him at the game, that until he is named employee #0 he is not satisfied!


37. Only CEO to be Praised by Bill Gates

Steve Jobs is perhaps the only CEO to be praised by Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates.

Gates, himself being the primary architect at Microsoft, sees Jobs to be an inspirational leader who changes the course of Apple’s history by single-handedly revolutionizing it in 1997.


Other Facts about Steve Jobs


38. Assembles Online Music Library

Steve Jobs, through his company Apple, single-handedly changes America’s music industry.

Other than his portable iPods, he assembles the legal online music library.

This is when most artists move to releasing music digitally, saving thousands of dollars in the classical record production costs.


39. Jobs’ Adolescent Dream-to Become a Buddhist Monk

As unbelievable as it sounds, Jobs’ adolescent dream is to become a Buddhist monk! After being in close quarters with some Buddhist activities, he gets inspired and even shaves his head to start living like a monk.

In 1974 when he visits India, Job’s finds his philosophical side and delves further into the studies of existentialism and spiritualism.


40. Biggest Stakeholder in Disney Films

Not most of us know that Jobs is the biggest stakeholder in Disney Films, after he purchases Pixar for $10m in 1986, and the savior of the movie Toy Story because without his intervention, Woody is scripted to be a bad guy!


41. His Annual Salary-A Single Digit Figure of $1.

Do you know that despite being the CEO of a company worth $300 billion, Steve Job’s annual salary is much less than any white or blue collar worker? Famous as he is, Jobs gains a lot of fame and respect when it is disclosed that his annual salary is a single digit figure of $1.


42. Patents Under The Names of Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs has many patents under his name.

Most sources say they amount to more than 300! One of them is the patented glass staircase at the Apple store, which is one in a hundred attractions alone that pull passersby into the store.


43. Advice To President Obama

In the book Steve Jobs, his biographer Walter Issacson writes that when Steve Jobs attends a dinner with President Obama, he tells the President how to avoid a one-term presidency.

His advice to the president is to make his administration ‘business-friendly’.

Who knows if it is Jobs’ insight that leads to Obama’s second term?


44. Designer of the Atari Game, Breakout

Steve Jobs designs the Atari game, Breakout, where you bounce a ball off a paddle to avoid dropping it down the screen, while you break the colorful block.

He is paid $5000 for creating Breakout.

You will find a version of this game on today’s smart phones and computers.


45. Steve’s Meeting With His Biological Father

Even though it is largely believed that Steve Jobs never meets his biological father, a half Syrian Muslim, Abdul Fattah Jandali, Jobs tells his biographer that he has met his father in the 1980s when he goes to his restaurant in San Jose.


46. Lives in a Simple and Modest House

As rich and famous as Steve Jobs is, he lives in a simple and modest house in Palo Alto.

It is reported that he never locks his house or bothers to decorate it until he marries his wife Laurene Powell.

She plants vegetables and herbs in their kitchen garden and sparingly decorates the house with furniture, keeping in mind Jobs’ taste for simplicity.


47. Has Designed a Yacht with a Glass Deck

He is also believed to have designed a yacht with a glass deck in his final years on which he wants to take a vacation with his family once he retires or quits his job at Apple.


48. Steve’s Son Wants to be an Oncologist

In December 2011, Steve Jobs’ son Reed Jobs, a spitting image of his father, declares at a game show while playing with his high school team that he likes to be an oncologist, a cancer doctor so that he can save affected lives from the disease that takes away his father’s life.

Reed Jobs is now a student at Stanford University.


49. Steve’s Wardrobe is Full of the Same Colored Clothes

Many argue that his popular choice of the black turtleneck and blue jeans are because he likes to save time whenever he can.

His wardrobe is full of the same colored clothes so he never has to spend time thinking about what to wear to a meeting.


50. Example of Friendly Rivalry

An engineer at NeXT, Adams, has reportedly told Forbes Magazine that in 1986, when Bill Gates comes to visit Steve Jobs at NeXT, the latter makes Steve Jobs wait for an hour in the lobby.

Adams is the one who keeps him occupied during the time.

This is the first example of their friendly rivalry.

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