Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco, California, on February 24, 1955, and passed away on October 5, 2011, in Palo Alto, California. He was a prominent businessman in the field of information technology and entertainment, serving as CEO of Apple Inc. and the largest shareholder of The Walt Disney Company.
Jobs was born to Abdulfattah Jandali, a Syrian Muslim immigrant, and Joanne Carole Schieble, an American of Swiss descent. Both were university students at the time. He was later adopted by Paul and Clara Jobs, who raised him in California.
In 1962, the family moved to Mountain View, a city south of Palo Alto that was beginning to emerge as a hub for electronics and computing—later known as Silicon Valley. Jobs attended Cupertino Middle School and then Homestead High School in Cupertino.
The beginning of Apple stemmed from a proposal Steve Wozniak made to Hewlett-Packard (HP) to develop a personal computer. When HP rejected the idea, Jobs and Wozniak co-founded Apple Computer Company. Their first product, the Apple I, was a rudimentary computer sold to electronics enthusiasts. Jobs played a key role in promoting and selling the product.
Apple saw great growth in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but internal tensions arose. By 1984, Jobs’ relationship with Apple CEO John Sculley had deteriorated. This conflict impacted the Macintosh project. In 1985, amid company-wide restructuring and layoffs of over 1,200 employees, Sculley removed Jobs from his leadership role. On September 17, 1985, Jobs left the company he had founded.
Following his departure, Jobs purchased a division of Lucasfilm for $5 million, renaming it Pixar. He invested an additional $5 million into the company. Under Jobs’ leadership, Pixar partnered with The Walt Disney Company. In 1995, Pixar released Toy Story, the first feature-length film created entirely with computer animation. The film was a huge commercial and critical success, winning an Academy Award and revolutionizing animated filmmaking.
Return to Apple
When Apple faced a steep decline in the mid-1990s, Jobs returned to the company. He initially served as an advisor but soon regained executive control. His leadership restored Apple’s innovation and profitability, and he was appointed interim CEO before officially resuming the role.
In 2009, Harvard Business Review named Steve Jobs “Executive of the Year” for increasing Apple’s market value by $150 billion over 12 years. His return marked a new era of products and innovations, including the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad, reshaping multiple industries.
Jobs resigned as CEO on August 24, 2011, due to health issues. Tim Cook succeeded him, while Jobs remained as chairman of the board until his death a few weeks later.
His legacy continues to influence the world of technology, design, and entertainment.