Interesting facts about the life of Steve Jobs

5 years ago, Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, died, under whose leadership the company released iPods, iPhones, iPads, and truly changed the world. We have prepared the most interesting facts from Jobs’ biography that made him an idol of millions.

Steve Jobs has left a huge legacy not only in the form of Apple products, but also in the form of his influence on the technology and business industries. With each new generation of iPhone, his ideas and principles continue to live on. In particular, in the fall of 2024, the new iPhone 16 is expected to be released, which promises to be even more revolutionary.

1. Jobs’ annual salary was $1.
   At the same time, the bonus paid to him by Apple was much higher: he once received a Gulfstream for $43.5 million. The company also covered all the costs of maintaining the aircraft.
2. Steve Jobs was dyslexic.
   The future CEO of Apple had a hard time learning to read and write as a child and barely graduated from high school.
3. In the third grade, Steve Jobs blew up a firecracker under his teacher’s chair.
   Jobs was repeatedly expelled from schools for his daring antics, and he managed to study at Reed College for only one semester.
4. Steve Jobs came to Apple’s first Halloween costume party dressed as Jesus Christ.
   Jobs was never known for his standard behavior: he walked around the office barefoot, harshly criticized his colleagues, and never met 90% of his employees.
5. Steve Jobs asked NASA to give him control of the space shuttle.
   Jobs wanted to go into space and applied for it, but NASA rejected him without explaining the reasons.
6. Jobs often parked in handicapped spaces.

Steve also drove a car without license plates. He found a loophole in California law: the owner of a new car must get license plates within 6 months of purchase. Steve made an agreement with a leasing company and every six months he exchanged his silver Mercedes SL55 AMG for a new one.

 

1. In the hospital, Steve refused to wear an oxygen mask because he did not like its design.
   Walter Isaacson writes about this in his biography of Jobs: “Jobs tore it off and muttered that he didn’t like the design and refused to wear it. He could barely speak, but he was still trying to persuade the workers to bring in five different versions of the mask so he could choose the design he liked… he also didn’t like the oxygen monitor that was attached to his finger. He thought it was ugly and too complicated.”
2. Jobs became a vegetarian, believing that he would have to wash less.
   Steve really believed that dirt, mucus, and sweat were produced by eating meat, and therefore he would not need to shower if he were a vegetarian. His refusal to shower annoyed his colleagues at Atari so much that Jobs was transferred to night work.
3. His favorite singer was Bob Dylan.
   Yes, even the greats have idols. Jobs was very fond of Bob Dylan’s music and even dated the musician’s ex-girlfriend for a while.

Jobs had Syrian roots.

His biological father’s name was Abdulfattah Jandali. Steve never met his biological father before his death. Jandali said that he periodically sent Jobs emails of congratulations, but received almost no responses.
The last response he received came 6 weeks before Steve’s death and was as concise as possible: “Thank you.”