Apple founder and recently retired CEO Steve Jobs has accumulated a personal fortune of $8.3 billion, but despite this, he is not known for his philanthropic contributions — at least, not publicly. According to the public record, he hasn’t given any money to charity in decades, and he reportedly declined to join Bill Gates’ and Warren E. Buffett’s Giving Pledge, a campaign to persuade the wealthiest to give away at least half their fortunes.
So is it time Jobs pulled a Bill Gates and start giving his money away?
The question is raised in a provocative column by Andrew Ross Sorkin in the New York Times’ Dealbook blog.
Sorkin notes that Jobs has given an innumerable gifts to society in terms of technology, but hasn’t publicly given any of his personal $8.3 billion fortune away.
… the lack of public philanthropy by Mr. Jobs — long whispered about, but rarely said aloud — raises some important questions about the way the public views business and business people at a time when some “millionaires and billionaires” are criticized for not giving back enough while others like Mr. Jobs are lionized.
Sorkin notes that Jobs may well give anonymously. And he may have plans for his enormous wealth after he dies. But publicly, Jobs has done little for philanthropy, which Sorkin finds puzzling give Jobs’ disdain of wealth for wealth’s sake.
Sorkin also notes that Apple sits on a cash pile of $76 billion. Apple had corporate philanthropic programs when Jobs returned in 1997, but he closed them to concentrate on retuning the company to profitability. They have never been reinstated.
It’s also noted that Jobs has never spoken up about cancer or cancer research, unlike other celebrity survivors like Lance Armstrong.
What do you think? Has Steve been storing up his philanthropy for when it can garner his full attention, or does he simply intend to leave the world his legacy in a different way than Bill Gates and other philanthropist billionaires? Let us know in the comments.
Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac.
Leander is a longtime technology reporter and the author of six acclaimed books about Apple, including two New York Times bestsellers: Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple’s Greatest Products and Inside Steve’s Brain, a biography of Steve Jobs.
He’s also written a top-selling biography of Apple CEO Tim Cook and authored Cult of Mac and Cult of iPod, which both won prestigious design awards. Most recently, he was co-author of Cult of Mac, 2nd Edition.
Leander has been reporting about Apple and technology for nearly 30 years.
Before founding Cult of Mac as an independent publication, Leander was news editor at Wired.com, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Wired.com website. He headed up a team of six section editors, a dozen reporters and a large pool of freelancers. Together the team produced a daily digest of stories about the impact of science and technology, and won several awards, including several Webby Awards, 2X Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Journalism and the 2010 MIN (Magazine Industry Newsletter) award for best blog, among others.
Before being promoted to news editor, Leander was Wired.com’s senior reporter, primarily covering Apple. During that time, Leander published a ton of scoops, including the first in-depth report about the development of the iPod. Leander attended almost every keynote speech and special product launch presented by Steve Jobs, including the historic launches of the iPhone and iPad. He also reported from almost every Macworld Expo in the late ’90s and early ‘2000s, including, sadly, the last shows in Boston, San Francisco and Tokyo. His reporting for Wired.com formed the basis of the first Cult of Mac book, and subsequently this website.
Before joining Wired, Leander was a senior reporter at the legendary MacWeek, the storied and long-running weekly that documented Apple and its community in the 1980s and ’90s.
Leander has written for Wired magazine (including the Issue 16.04 cover story about Steve Jobs’ leadership at Apple, entitled Evil/Genius), Scientific American, The Guardian, The Observer, The San Francisco Chronicle and many other publications.
Leander has a postgrad diploma in artificial intelligence from the University of Aberdeen, and a BSc (Hons) in experimental psychology from the University of Sussex.
He has a diploma in journalism from the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists.
Leander lives in San Francisco, California, and is married with four children. He’s an avid biker and has ridden in many long-distance bike events, including California’s legendary Death Ride.
You can find out more about Leander on LinkedIn and Facebook. You can follow him on X at @lkahney or Instagram.
127 responses to “Now That Steve Jobs Has Retired, Is It Time For Him To Give His Fortune Away?”
He didn’t retire. You don’t read much.
I didn’t retire. He resigned as CEO….
He is saving so he can get cryogenized :)
I dont understand what the fascination with wealth is. He worked hard and made good decisions. He deserves his wealth. What he chooses to do with that is his business and the rest of the world’s opinion is irrelevant. It is one thing about being in this country. We are free (somewhat) to choose to do with what we have. If he wants to blow it at a casino that is ok. It is equally ok if he wants to donate it.
As the ad on TV says, It’s your money use it for what you need it for! I admire Buffet and Gates for doing what they are doing, but that does not mean everyone has to follow in their footsteps.
Retired??? I guess you don’t read your own website.
The question is irrelevant. Leave the man alone.
In turn, ask the right questions.
For example: do we need an extra (one time?) tax for billionaires. To put society and economy into shape again?
Why does he have too. I really don’t get the complaint. It’s just people who are making a living and have nothing else t do that complain. Also, doesn’t he have kids? It’s funny how people think it’s sick he’s not donating anything but they leave their fortunes for their kids. Just let him RIP while he still can…
-Oliver the poo
I have noticed over the last couple of days that it seems that the
entire press corps seems to be at a loss for something to write
about. So in this copycat world it appears they have all decided to
attack Steve Jobs. I think that what Steve Jobs does with his money
is his business and his business alone. What he does with his fortune
is a private matter. If Mr. Sorkin and the rest of the press would
like to address their own charitable contributions or lack thereof,
that would be fine, however, I do not think it is appropriate for
anyone to write articles of this sort, at this time, in light of the
serious health issues Mr. Jobs is dealing with. Write about something
else.
No
leander, normally i love your posts [as well as brownlee’s] but this particular “surface” post has really pissed me off! the answer is not just no, but FUCK NO!!!. steve should not give a single dollar to charity. most of the big charities are big fronts [read: wwf and the like – There is nothing cuddly about the WWF – Telegraph Blogs], and there’s no bigger front than the bill & melinda gates fraud! i’m not going to do your, nor anyone else’s homework for them, but the b&m gates fund is a complete front for the bilderberg/council on foreign relations, as well as big pharm as well. here’s a single example – http://www4.dr-rath-foundation… – but i really hope that you, and anyone else reading this does their homework before posting, and/or regurgitating this ridiculous shit of a “story”. btw, sorkin is also a member of the bilderbergers/cfr, helping to push their NWO agenda too, just like the gates fuckwits!
leander, normally i love your posts [as well as brownlee’s] but this particular “surface” post has really pi$$ed me off! the answer is not just no, but F**K NO!!!. steve should not give a single dollar to charity. most of the big charities are big fronts [read: wwf and the like – There is nothing cuddly about the WWF – Telegraph Blogs], and there’s no bigger front than the bill & melinda gates fraud! i’m not going to do your, nor anyone else’s homework for them, but the b&m gates fund is a complete front for the bilderberg/council on foreign relations, as well as big pharm as well. here’s a single example – http://www4.dr-rath-foundation… – but i really hope that you, and anyone else reading this does their homework before posting, and/or regurgitating this ridiculous sh*t of a “story”. btw, sorkin is also a member of the bilderbergers/cfr, helping to push their NWO agenda too! just like the gates f*ckwits
not just no, but FUCK NO!!!
Just because Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are giving out money, that does not mean that Steve Jobs has to do it. People don’t need to be criticized just because they don’t do what other people do. Just mind your own business and leave the man alone.
But this isn’t your story,it’s Sorkin’s, so why are you rehashing it here? Shouldn’t you be generating your own ideas instead of just “swiping” someone else’s? This whole entry seems pretty close to plagiarism to me.
There are no reporters at this site.
CoM is only a reposting blog.
What the hell is wrong with people who think that billionaires should give their money away? What ever happened to private property? Steve Jobs doesn’t owe anyone anything. Let him keep is billions. He earned it.
Steve earned his wealth he fought for it and it is up to him to do whatever he wants to. In regards to him not speaking out about cancer, well he doesn’t have to. It might be a very sensitive subject and he might prefer keeping it to himself. He doesn’t owe this world anything.
A Taste of Thoughtful Giving: Maimonides’ Laws Concerning Gifts to the Poor
In this brief list, Maimonides offers a succinct and extraordinarily provocative description of the eight degrees of charity:
1. The highest degree, exceeded by none, is that of a person who assists a poor person by providing him with a gift or a loan or by accepting him into a business partnership or by helping him find employment — in a word, by putting him where he can dispense with other people’s aid.
2. A step below this stands the one who gives alms to the needy in such a manner that the giver knows not to whom he gives and the recipient knows not from whom it is that he takes.
3. One step lower is that in which the giver knows to whom he gives but the poor person knows not from whom he receives.
4. A step lower is that in which the poor person knows from whom he is taking but the giver knows not to whom he is giving.
5. The next degree lower is that of him who, with his own hand, bestows a gift before the poor person asks.
6. The next degree lower is that of him who gives only after the poor person asks.
7. The next degree lower is that of him who gives less than is fitting but gives with a gracious mien.
8. The next degree is that of him who gives morosely.
SJ is a private man. We likely have no idea what he does for charities.
lol steve jobs looks like wheres wally :)
Jg, a lot of people work hard and make good decisions. Contrary to the myths I grew up on, it’s not a guarantee of financial security, much less, wealth.
Discussion of wealthy people’s philanthropic tendencies may or may not be irrelevant, but it’s certainly not a forbidden topic.
It wouldn’t surprise me to hear that Jobs is selfish or miserly where his fortune concerned, and it wouldn’t surprise me to find that he’s entirely private about his giving either.
This is really poor taste. This man has done so much for this world and he is now in a life-threatening condition and probably is spending the last few days of his life in private, and now from a 3rd-rate blogger out came this click-baiting BS about morals and charity. Don’t you guys have no shame? Now for the record Steve has repeatedly spoken out for organ donation including one on stage when he returned from his liver transplant. Now will you leave him alone? Shame on you!
Why do you care? What business is it of yours? What if he wants to give it to his kids? Again why do you care?
If he divides his $8.3 Billion dollar fortune to every U.S. citizen, we would all get $27.
The world would be an even better place if he donated money to any project he prefers… to fight hunger, disease, you name it. I think it’s the best thing he could do. I have to say I love my Mac, but I admire deeply what Mr. Gates is doing, I wished Mr. Jobs would do the same as well, I know lots of people would benefit.
What seems like hypocrisy to me is that if it was the other way around (Mr. Jobs donating large amounts of his wealth while Mr. Gates acted like Jobs currently does) many of the people who post here would be critizicing that position.
Recuperate pronto Steve!
Hello? When did Steve Jobs retire? Seriously. Where’s the announcement?
Jobs resigned as CEO and remains as Chairman and Apple employee. He didn’t retired. He may not work 40 hours a week, but retire he didn’t. When he does finally retire (I suspect he’ll die first), what he does with his wealth is his business.
I think it’s his money and none of our business.
Agreed. This article is pretentious jealousy.
Maybe he’s not a eugenisist like Gates !
Why do people – media – thrive on building someone up, then try to tear them down?
It’s NO ONE’S business what ANYONE else – other than themselves – what someone does/doesn’t ‘do’ with their finances, or their PERSONAL life in general.
Unlike media whores like; I’m really rich’ D. Trump (and, his ‘fortune’s BULLSHIT), how someone lives is NOT public fodder!
Mr. Jobs WAS in a very public position – and, even then, he didn’t play media’s game – HE played THEM.
What’re YOU doing with YOUR finances, Mr. Kahney? ?
Discussing whether someone is going to participate in philanthropy is not tearing them down
it’s news
Well if he dies first I doubt that he will do anything with his money.
didn’t seem like an attack to me. just a discussing of whether jobs would do what other billionaires have done. of course it’s premature considering he hasn’t totally resigned yet.
people are just wondering if he will since others have done the same.
philanthropy doesn’t necessarily have to do with repaying some debt to society. and it has nothing to do with where the money came from. not like people who worked harder are less likely to do philanthropy.
I think Steve Jobs took less than he could have from Apple, so what he didn’t give back to society, he gave to Apple…maybe it’s Apple’s turn to help our world a little bit (other than making technology accessible)
Discussing it by implying that said person has some kind of moral obligation to do so and isn’t in tearing him down.
But of course it makes sense. Apple is a major hit fodder for blogs and news sites. And anything that makes Apple or Apple’s people look bad gets major hits from the fanbois defending Apple and the antibois who come to provoke things.
Steve will never recuperate. One simply doesn’t after a major form of cancer and a major organ transplant like Steve had. Especially when you suffer from both.
He’s always going to look like he’s one step away from death. He’ll constantly be at the doctor’s office for checkups, he’ll be in and out of the hospital getting various things retested. This is part of why he stepped down as CEO. The 24/7 nature of that position just isn’t flexible enough for what he has to do for his personal life.
No, it’s gossiping hit fodder.
Not a shock really that CoM posted it. They have become 90% hit whore of late. Pity, used to be that you could count of CoM to be able all that.
Aside from the potentially very erroneous “last few days of his life” comment (you think the Board wouldn’t be aware of this when he resigned and thus wouldn’t vote him in as Chairman), agreed.
The world would be a better place if governments would spend our tax money properly and not to declare wars at everything that moves. We pay our taxes it would be the duty of our politicial to solve world problem. And what about our politicians what are they doing with your MONEY?
So, i am sure when mr. Job is ready will do everything he wants with the money he worked very hard for it. We all know that mr. job at to work a bit harder the bill gates.
HE made money with someone else ideas…and he got rich..with a dull operating system.
He should give all is fortune away.
Fuck it all Steve…send it to me…i love you!
And yet you in your other comments, as well as this article, act like indeed it is. Like Jobs has some duty to give back to society because he is rich and famous.
Look at it the other way. Jobs via Apple has generated tons of jobs, potentially improved education and medicine etc via better tech, potentially reduced manufacturing produced pollution etc via moving to digital systems over paper and plastic and so on. Not to mention made a lot of investors a pretty penny
What, other than handing out cash, have Gates and Buffet done lately
and the fanboys have definitely been riled up
In a country where the majority refute universal healthcare?
When someone give money, he/she expects something in return.
Healthcare = human right.
The poor need NOT money, the poor need TOOLS, the poor need: equal opportunities.
Put yr money in science ( nanoTech, astro-physics, medicine ) research, tech research.
Public philanthropy is social engineering at most, like Gate and education in the USA.
Nah, he’s a tightwad.
See, this is what happens when you don’t know how to read. Look at the article and read it. “Mr. Kahney” wasn’t the one that first asked the question. It was Andrew Ross Sorkin of NYT. “Mr. Kahney” is asking what you think, but instead of offering a real rebuttal to the question, you had a knee-jerk fanboy reaction, slathering at the mouth while you take a break from playing COD in your mom’s basement.
Awesome. I’m going to Chili’s.
This is Steve Jobs personal business and nobody elses. its too bad Leander that you have turned into another Engadget. Time to remove COM from my RSS reader. Nothing but page view whoring nonsense.
You really need to learn some basic spelling and grammar.
Im not in position to comment on someone I don’t know, but let me say this. the way the apple company is structured they don’t give away anything, nothing is ever on sale unless it’s a refurbished item or you may get a discount if you lie and say your a student via the website and for as much as their products cost that don’t amount to much, so with that being said all of this falls under steve’s leadership which tells me if he wants to nickel and dime you for every computer , iphone , ipod , ipad , sold what makes you think he’s giving anything away i feel sorry for him health wise but he do seem like a cheapskate forcing developers to pay 30 percent premiums, don’t get me started ! and by the way I own apple products as well
So at what dollar point is a person required to give away something? I see a man who took risks and has over time, along with others (developers, third party vendors, business’s, etc) benefited from those calculated risks. Why do we feel someone “has to” give away their money because they became successful?
You are one of two people, you are either someone who spent money on an Apple product, or someone who could care less about owning an Apple product. Whatever your view it doesn’t give you or I the right to “determine” what one should do with their wealth.
In the end you contributed or didn’t contribute to his wealth, that is the only decision you should have. You voted when you bought into Apple or didn’t buy into Apple. your purchasing decisions really are the only say you have, it’s the only thing you control.
For those who are so concerned about this subject, who feel he, or any other successful company or individual should “publicly” or even “privately” give away their wealth my challenge to you is this…
…..Comment in this thread and, 1- Tell us a bit about yourself (gender, age, etc), 2- list your personal wealth, 3- the achievements & risks you took to achieve that wealth. 4- What charities or causes do you currently give to, and how much do you give. This is your time to shine!
I know I am being a complete apologist for Steve Jobs and I make no excuse for it.
I think people don’t talk enough about the fact that through Steve Jobs’s leadership he has guided the company into one of the richest, most influential companies mankind has witnessed in living memory. He has created millions of jobs directly and indirectly through an Apple ecosystem.
People earn a living working at the Apple Store, they earn a living creating accessories, people in Asia earn a wage in factories trying to meet demand for components, designers, software programmers, technical support, even websites like Cult of Mac.
I think if someone attempted to work out how many jobs around the world are connected to Apple it’d come to an impressive figure. As far as wealth redistribution and creation goes, few companies can match Apple.
Absolutely an amazing contributor to “our age” – a mind of of epic proportions and ability – however if he has an extra few bucks lying around Ill stand first in line…. it is IMPOSSIBLE to imagine his wealth – Id love a minute portion of it — and it would make ALL the diffenrence in my life – so odd to think of someone with such financial well being – and yet all the money in the world can’t cure the ever hatin’ C….. so sorry Steve! wish it could fix it!!! WE ALL lose with your loss at the helm and in the world….. However, if you have the extra change – $50k would more than solve my problems – and allow my kids to go to college with my support – but hey – you worked hard for it…. I hope you find a GOOD place for it!!!!! GOOD HEALTH, PASS THE WEALTH, Ill PUT ON THE TEA!!
because it is a TON – literally– of money — what is done with it WILL matter….. even if he burns it – it WILL matter….
dislike… CoM is merely putting out the question – no opinon is stated…. loosen up!
dislike… CoM is merely putting out the question – no opinon is stated…. loosen up!
organ donation? IDK that is a GREAT cause!!
Do NOT worry, English is NOT my mother language.
I learn it just by reading books ( yeah, all by myself ), not grammar.
So sorry about that, do not blame my iPod Touch, tho.
By the way, are you a Tea Party member?
Because i write better than their posters’ writer.
i love apple i have a 27” imac 12” powerbook along with a few other products made by apple , I understand it took apple many years to reach this point they may have not won the war against windows but who would of thought an ipod and itunes would turn things around . and it’s not just apple sony, microsoft , walmart they all were the same but the truth is the truth apple is all about getting every dollar they can and they are suing people left and right. so don’t expect no breaks
Job’s Legacy is already out there…it has been changing the world for decades now…
a man that made all “his contributions” out of stealing other men’s work, will never show a sign of gratitude by giving anything back…
the more money you give the more you get back that is the rule of the universe. not just money
it also the healthy of this person and his family. a person having care to the other, like hungers,the poor, vaccination for new born baby. i am always praise for these people and their actions.when these people are practicing these, their successful to the life will be much easy.