Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was the co-founder and CEO of Apple and formerly [Pixar](/organization/pixar). Steve Jobs was born in San Francisco, California to Joanne Simpson and a Syrian father. Paul and Clara Jobs of Mountain View, California then adopted him. In 1972, Jobs graduated from Homestead High School in Cupertino, California and enrolled in Reed College in Portland, Oregon. One semester later, he dropped out, later taking up the study of philosophy and foreign cultures. Steve Jobs had a deep-seated interest in technology, so he took up a job at [Atari Inc,](/organization/atari) then a leading manufacturer of video games. He struck a friendship with fellow designer [Steve Wozniak](/person/steve-wozniak) and attended Homebrew Computer Club meetings with him. After saving up some money, Jobs took off for India in the search of enlightenment. Once he returned, he convinced Wozniak to quit his job at [Hewlett Packard](/organization/hewlett-packard) to join him in his venture that concerned personal computers. They sold items like scientific calculators to raise seed capital. In 1976, Jobs and Wozniak founded [Apple Computer](/organization/apple) in the Jobs family garage. The first personal computer was sold for $666.66. By 1980, Apple had already released three improved versions of the personal computer. It had a wildly successful IPO, which made both founders millionaires many times over. A tiff with the Apple's Board of Directors and John Scully led to Jobs' resignation. Steve Jobs decided that he wanted to change the hardware industry. The company was called [NeXTStep](/organization/next), which produced the NeXT Computer. The machine was a commercial washout but helped with future work in object-oriented programming, PostScript, and magneto-optical devices. Jobs returned to his original company after Apple acquired NeXT in 1996. Steve Jobs also started [Pixar](/organization/pixar), which has produced multiple blockbuster films, including Toy Story (1995); A Bug's Life (1998); Toy Story 2 (1999); Monsters, Inc. (2001); Finding Nemo (2003); and The Incredibles (2004). In 2004, Jobs was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his pancreas, which was successfully treated. Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple on August 24, 2011 and subsequently assumed the role of Chairman of the Board. On October 5, 2011, Jobs passed away.