Steven Paul Jobs (born February 24, 1955) is the co- founder and CEO of Apple. Together with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Jobs helped popularize the personal computer in the late ش70s. In the early ش80s, still at Apple, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of the mouse- driven GUI. After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985, Jobs resigned from Apple and founded NeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher education and business markets. NeXTصs subsequent 1997 buyout by Apple brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he has served as its chief executive officer since shortly after his return.
When twenty-one-year-old Jobs saw a computer that Wozniak had designed for his own use, he convinced Wozniak to assist him and started a company to market the computer. Apple Computer Co. was founded as a partnership on April 1, 1976. Though their initial plan was to sell just printed circuit boards, Jobs and Wozniak ended up creating a batch of completely assembled computers and thus entered the personal computer business. The first personal computer Jobs and Wozniak introduced, the Apple I, sold for US$666.66, a number Wozniak came up with because he liked repeating digits. Its successor, the Apple II, was introduced the following year and became a huge success, turning Apple into an important player in the nascent personal computer industry. In December 1980, with a successful IPO, Apple Computer became a publicly traded corporation, making Jobs a multi-millionaire.
As Apple continued to expand, the company began looking for an experienced executive to help manage its expansion. In 1983, Jobs lured John Sculley away from Pepsi- Cola, to serve as Appleصs CEO. In 1986, finding himself sidelined by the company he had founded, Jobs sold all but one of his shares in Apple.
Around the same time, Jobs founded another computer company, NeXT Computer.
Return to Apple
In 1996, Apple announced that it would buy NeXT for US$402 million. The deal was finalized in early 1997, bringing Jobs back to the company he founded. He soon became Appleصs interim CEO after the directors lost confidence in and ousted then-CEO Gil Amelio in a boardroom coup.
In recent years, the company has branched out. With the introduction of the iPod portable music player, iTunes digital music software, and the iTunes Store, the company is making forays into consumer electronics and music distribution. Most recently, Apple entered the cellular phone business with the introduction of the iPhone, a multi-touch display cell phone, iPod, and internet device.
Jobs works at Apple for an annual salary of US$1, and this earned him a listing in Guinness World Records as the زLowest Paid Chief Executive Officer.س His current salary at Apple officially remains US$1 per year, although he has traditionally been the recipient of a number of lucrative زexecutive giftsس from the board, including a US$46 million jet in 1999.
In 2005, Jobs responded to criticism of Appleصs poor recycling programs for e-waste in the U.S. by lashing out at environmental and other advocates at Appleصs Annual Meeting in Cupertino in April.
Jobs began 2007 with Macworld Expo at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. He began the episodic keynote address by reviewing Appleصs music business through iTunes music and video highlights, mentioning that rumors of the decline in Internet music business were false. Highlights included the long-awaited iPhone mobile device as well as the rebranding and official introduction of Apple TV. After the long- awaited introduction of these two products, Jobs announced on January 9, 2007 that زApple Computer, Incس would be now known as زApple Inc.س
Jobs was also involved in 2007 in an attempt to persuade former Vice President of the United States Al Gore, a member of Appleصs board of directors, to run for President in 2008.
Personal life
Jobs married Laurene Powell, nine years his junior, on March 18, 1991 and has had three children with her.
Steve Jobs is also a devoted Beatles fan. He has referenced them on more than one occasion at Keynotes and also was interviewed on a showing of a Paul McCartney concert. He also enjoys Bach and other classical music.
Jobs had a public war of words with Dell Computer CEO Michael Dell, starting when Jobs first criticized Dell for making زun-innovative beige boxes.س On October 6, 1997, when Michael Dell was asked what he would do if he owned then-troubled Apple Computer, he said زIصd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders.س
Health concerns
In mid-2004, Jobs announced to his employees that he had been diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his pancreas. The prognosis for pancreatic cancer is usually very grim; Jobs, however, stated that he had a rare, far less aggressive type known as islet cell neuroendocrine tumor. On July 31, 2004, Jobs underwent surgery that successfully removed the tumor, and did not require chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
