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Early life
Jobs was born on
Feb. 24, 1955, to Joanne Simpson and Abdul fattah Jandali, an unwed couple who
put their first-born son up for adoption. Raised by Paul and Clara Jobs, StevenPaul Jobs grew up in California and displayed a keen interest in electronics
from an early age.In high school, he met a kindred spirit in Steve Wozniak, a
man who shared his passion for technology as well as practical jokes. The
friendship would play a key role in the development of Apple and the career
trajectory of Jobs.The two got their start in the tech world by selling
so-called "Blue Boxes," devices that gave users the ability to make
free long-distance calls.After graduating from Homestead High School in
Cupertino, Calif., Jobs enrolled at Reed College in Oregon in 1972. He dropped
out after one semester, but remained in the area for another 18 months auditing
classes such as calligraphy.
In 1974, he
returned to California and began working at Atari, an early video game company.
He also went on a spiritual journey to India with a friend, marking the start
of his interest in Eastern philosophy and religion, including Buddhism.The two
got their start in the tech world by selling so-called "Blue Boxes,"
devices that gave users the ability to make free long-distance calls.After
graduating from Homestead High School in Cupertino, Calif., Jobs enrolled at
Reed College in Oregon in 1972. He dropped out after one semester, but remained
in the area for another 18 months auditing classes such as calligraphy.In 1974,
he returned to California and began working at Atari, an early video game
company. He also went on a spiritual journey to India with a friend, marking
the start of his interest in Eastern philosophy and religion, including
Buddhism.
Beginning of Apple
In 1976, Wozniak
and Jobs opened Apple Computer Company. The tech giant's spectacular rise, fall
and resurgence would mirror Jobs's own life.The company's first model, Apple I,
was a simple circuit board, which was sold to computer enthusiasts. Its
followup, however, turned out to be a huge success, vaulting the company from a
relative unknown into a household name. Created in 1977, the Apple II was the
first-ever complete home computer, which came fully functional right out of the
box. It revolutionized the emerging industry.Many credit Apple, and also Jobs,
with changing the perception of what a computer can be — from a high-tech tool
used only by the business or science world to a commonplace device used by
ordinary people.Apple and the economic fortune of its co-founder continued to
grow. After the company's initial public offering in 1980, Jobs was worth over
$200 million US.
Apple stalls
Following the
initial success of the Apple II, the company — and Jobs — suffered a series of
setbacks. The Apple III sold poorly. When IBM entered the market in 1981 with
its personal computer, it put pressure on Apple, with the PC eventually
grabbing a larger piece of computer sales.Apple launched the Macintosh in 1984,
the design of which was overseen by Jobs. Despite some initial success, the
computer did not sell as well as expected.During this time, many at Apple
became disgruntled with Jobs's management style, especially after several of
his engineers on the Macintosh project learned they were paid less than teams
on other projects. Much of this came to a head in 1985, when Jobs struggled
with CEO John Sculley for control of the company. Jobs attempted a boardroom
coup, but it backfired. He was left with no managerial responsibility at Apple
but remained chairman. He resigned from the company that same year.
NeXTComputer and Pixar
Jobs's next venture
was starting NeXT Computer, in which he hoped to design an advanced computer
for higher education and research. Much like the computers that followed Apple
II, the NeXT Cube turned out to be largely a commercial failure, despite its
impressive computing power.During this time, Jobs also came into contact with a
small group of graphics experts who were keen to begin making computer-animated
movies. In 1986, he bought the little-known company, Pixar, from George Lucas
for $10 million US. Much like NeXT, the company was initially unsuccessful and
Jobs was forced to reduce its size.Things started to turn around for Jobs after
Pixar signed a contract with Disney to create the first computer-animated
feature film, Toy Story. Launched during the holiday season in 1995,
the movie proved to be a blockbuster and helped propel Jobs back into economic
success — and the spotlight.
Return to Apple
Jobs found himself
back at the company he helped found when NeXT was purchased by Apple in 1997
for 1.5 million shares of stock and more than $400 million US. That same year,
Jobs was named interim CEO of Apple, after the company posted huge losses. He
would go on to reorganize the company and once again turn it into a
profit-making enterprise.During the restructuring, many employees said they
worried about meeting Apple's new boss in the elevator, for fear they would not
have a job by the time the doors opened.
In 1998, Apple
released the easy-to-use iMac, an improvement over previous models with an
esthetically pleasing design. It was well received and helped re-establish the
company's brand. Jobs always had an eye for what the consumer wanted.Jobs was
named CEO of Apple in 2000. He jokingly referred to himself at the time as the
iCEO.Throughout the next few years, the company continued to produce a series
of successful products, most notably the iPod, which would come to dominate the
MP3 player market. Success and commendation would follow Apple and Jobs through
the decade.In 2007, Apple unveiled the iPhone, to great acclaim. The company
followed up this success with the launch of the iPad in 2010.In 2010, Jobs was
ranked as the 42nd-richest person in the United States, with a net worth of
over $6 billion US. He was also ranked 17th on a list of the world's most
powerful people.
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