Steve Jobs: Core Principles, Timeline, & Net Worth

The Origin Story

Early Life

Growing up in Silicon Valley, Jobs learned craftsmanship from his adoptive father Paul, who taught him that "he knew how to build anything" and passed along "his love of mechanics." From an early age, Jobs "refused to accept automatically received truths and wanted to examine everything for himself" - a trait that would define his entire approach to business and life.

The Spark

The spark came in 1971 when Jobs and Wozniak read an Esquire article about phone freaking and hunted down the Bell System Technical Journal. Their blue box project taught them "how to work together and gave them confidence they could solve technical problems and put something into production."

First Moves

After working the night shift at Atari as an engineer in 1975, Jobs convinced Wozniak they could turn his computer design into a real business. On April 1, 1976, they founded Apple Computer Company in Jobs's parents' garage, with Jobs declaring "My vision was to create the first fully packaged computer" - complete integration from the start.

Core Beliefs & Principles

Pivotal Decisions

1976

Founded Apple Computer Company with vision for fully packaged computers rather than just components for hobbyists

Transformed personal computing from niche hobby into mass market. Led to Apple II selling 6 million units over 16 years and established end-to-end integration philosophy that would define Apple's entire approach.

1986

Bought Pixar's computer graphics division from Lucasfilm for $10 million after being ousted from Apple

Created parallel career path that proved his abilities beyond Apple. Pixar's eventual $7.4 billion sale to Disney made Jobs Disney's largest shareholder and validated his product vision in entirely different industry.

1997

Returned to Apple as interim CEO, took $1 salary, and radically simplified product line to just 4 products in 2x2 grid

Saved Apple from 90-day insolvency, turning $1.04 billion loss into $309 million profit in one year. This focus strategy became foundation for iPhone, iPad, and Apple's rise to world's most valuable company.

2007

Shelved iPad project to focus resources on iPhone because people would understand need for 'better phone' over tablet concept

iPhone revolutionized mobile industry and became Apple's primary revenue driver. Strategic sequencing allowed Apple to perfect multi-touch technology on phone before expanding to tablet, creating two dominant product categories instead of potentially failing at both.

What NOT to Do

Brutal early management style

Jobs regularly called employees 'B players' and 'dumb shits,' creating a toxic environment that drove away talent. He eventually learned to mentor privately, but his early approach was unnecessarily destructive.

NeXT strategic failures

Despite years of development, NeXT only sold 50,000 computers and Jobs killed a $60M IBM deal by overplaying his hand. His perfectionism and ego got in the way of practical business execution.

Inconsistent product judgment

The Lisa computer was a commercial flop at only 100,000 units sold, and MobileMe was such a disaster it had to be completely rebuilt as iCloud. Even visionaries swing and miss sometimes.

In Their Own Words

“
If it hadn't been for the blue boxes, there wouldn't have been an Apple. I'm 100% sure of that

“
A players like to work only with other A players, which means you can't indulge B players

“
People don't know what they want until you show it to them

“
The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, don't settle

“
My passion has been to build an enduring company where people were motivated to make great products. Everything else was secondary

Connections

Learned From

Andy Grove

Clarity about personal priorities — Grove's indifference to Apple made Jobs realize 'I do give a shit about Apple'

Edwin Land

Edwin Land had a profound impact on Steve Jobs, inspiring him with his relentless focus on innovation, design elegance, and creating products that delight users. Jobs often cited Land’s vision and perfectionism at Polaroid as a model for building transformative technology and shaping his own business philosophy.

Paul Jobs

Craftsmanship and attention to detail — learned that quality extends to parts others can't see, and the importance of building things with your hands

Steve Wozniak

Technical collaboration and problem-solving — the blue box project taught them how to work together and gave confidence they could solve technical problems

Nolan Bushnell

Urgency and aggressive timelines in business — learned to set schedules in days and weeks rather than months

Regis McKenna

Public speaking and communication skills — transformed into an extraordinary extemporaneous speaker who could wield that tool to great effect

David Packard

Company building and legacy thinking — studied how to build enduring companies and leave money to foundations

Bob Noyce

Operational excellence and company building principles from Intel's co-founder

Ed Catmull

Patience and private mentoring — learned one-on-one mentoring and how to work with creative people over time

J. Robert Oppenheimer

Hiring methodology — studied the type of people Oppenheimer sought for the atom bomb project as a model for building teams

Timeline

1971

Jobs and Wozniak read Esquire article about phone freaking, found Bell System Technical Journal and began their blue box project.

1975

Jobs worked night shift at Atari as engineer, learning urgency and business approach from Nolan Bushnell.

1976

Apple Computer Company founded April 1 in Jobs's parents' garage with vision to create first fully packaged computer.

1977

Apple II introduced at West Coast Computer Faire, launching what would become Apple's first major commercial success.

1980

Apple went public December 12 at $22 per share, making 25-year-old Jobs worth $256 million overnight.

1984

Macintosh introduced January 24, popularizing graphical user interfaces but selling only 100,000 units as the Lisa.

1985

Jobs resigned from Apple September 17 after being pushed out, immediately founding NeXT with $7 million in initial funding.

1986

Jobs bought Pixar computer graphics division from Lucasfilm for $10 million ($5M to company, $5M to Lucasfilm).

1995

Toy Story released as Pixar's first film, earning $361 million worldwide box office receipts and proving animation's digital future.

1997

Apple acquired NeXT for $400 million and Jobs returned as interim CEO when Apple was less than 90 days from insolvency.

1998

iMac introduced and Apple online store launched, turning $1.04 billion loss into $309 million profit in Jobs's first full fiscal year.

2001

iPod released October 23 at $399, beginning Apple's transformation from computer company to consumer electronics powerhouse.

2006

Disney acquired Pixar for $7.4 billion, making Jobs Disney's largest shareholder with 7% stake.

2007

iPhone released June 29, turning mobile phones into multimedia devices and spawning the app economy.

2010

iPad released April 3, launching the tablet computing era with a device originally conceived before the iPhone.

2011

Jobs died October 5, leaving Apple as the most valuable company on Earth and having transformed multiple industries.

Net Worth Over Time

Values shown in estimated modern USD equivalents

Legacy & Impact

Business Impact

Jobs transformed entire industries across three decades, launching the personal computer revolution with Apple II, revolutionizing mobile phones with iPhone, and creating the tablet computing category with iPad. He built Apple into the most valuable company on Earth while simultaneously nurturing digital imagination through Pixar blockbusters and spawning the app economy that redefined content creation.