Tech

Steve Jobs

Adopted by a working-class couple; co-founded Apple in the family garage at 21.

Born: 1955 · San Francisco, California, US
Roots: Syrian and Swiss-German descent; adopted by a working-class California couple
Family: Working class; Adoptive father was a machinist, mother a bookkeeper; biological parents were graduate students who gave him up for adoption.
Education: Reed College (dropped out after one semester)
Started with: ~$1,300; Raised by selling his VW van and Wozniak's programmable calculator.
Affiliations & societies: None documented.; Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

1974 · age 19
Atari technician
Works on arcade games; travels to India the same year.
1976 · age 21
Co-founds Apple~$1,300
With Steve Wozniak, assembling the Apple I in his parents' garage.
1977 · age 22
Apple II and first investor$250K
Mike Markkula invests and guarantees a credit line.
1980 · age 25
IPO$217M
His stake is valued around $217M at listing.
1985 · age 30
Leaves Apple
Resigns after a board dispute strips his operating role; founds NeXT.
1986 · age 31
Buys Pixar$10M
Acquires the graphics group from Lucasfilm.
1996 · age 41
Returns to Apple$429M
Apple acquires NeXT for $429M; he becomes CEO the following year.
2007 · age 52
iPhone
Apple later becomes the world's most valuable company.

Sources

Compiled from these references and contemporaneous press reporting. Figures are approximate; verify before relying on them.