Apple CEO Steve Jobs, 54, moved up 18 spots on Forbes’ list of The 400 Richest Americans 2009, from 61st to 43rd, with an estimated US$5.1 billion:
Forbes’ blurb for Steve Jobs reads:
Cultish king of the iGeeks recently returned to Apple after undergoing a liver transplant this spring; made first public appearance in September looking gaunt at an event debuting improved iPods. In January blamed hormone imbalance for rapid weight loss; suspiciously took medical leave soon after. Shares flat since last August but up 100% since January on continued rumors and releases of new and updated products and Jobs’ return. Reed College dropout founded Apple in 1976. Revolutionized music industry with iTunes, iPod. More than 50 million iPhones could be sold in 2011. Industry whispers suggest company will release a touch-screen computer without a keyboard by early 2010. Best investment: bought Pixar from George Lucas in 1986 for $10 million; created string of hits (Finding Nemo, Toy Story). Sold to Disney in 2006 for $7.4 billion in stock. Today is Disney’s largest shareholder; stake worth $3.9 billion.
The Top 15 and selected other tech-related notables:
01 Bill Gates, $50,000,000,000
02 Warren Buffett, $40,000,000,000
03 Larry Ellison, $27,000,000,000
04 Christy Walton & family, $21,500,000,000
05 Jim C. Walton, $19,600,000,000
06 Alice Walton, $19,300,000,000
07 S. Robson Walton, $19,000,000,000
08 Michael Bloomberg, $17,500,000,000
09 Charles Koch, $16,000,000,000
09 David Koch, $16,000,000,000
11 Sergey Brin, $15,300,000,000
11 Larry Page, $15,300,000,000
13 Michael Dell, $14,500,000,000
14 Steven Ballmer, $13,300,000,000
15 George Soros, $13,000,000,000
…
28 Jeffrey Bezos, $8,800,000,000
…
37 Rupert Murdoch, $6,000,000,000
…
80 Gordon Moore, $3,700,000,000
…
85 H. Ross Perot, $3,500,000,000
…
97 Steven Spielberg, $3,000,000,000
97 George Lucas, $3,000,000,000
97 Richard Schulze, $3,000,000,000
…
118 Ray Dolby, $2,600,000,000
…
123 David Sun, $2,500,000,000
123 John Tu, $2,500,000,000
123 Steven Udvar-Hazy, $2,500,000,000
139 Mark Cuban, $2,400,000,000
…
158 Mark Zuckerberg, $2,000 ,000,000
The full list is here.
MacDailyNews Take: It could very easily and quite soundly be argued that, without Steve Jobs, #1, #13, and #14 would not be on this list at all.
I would love to be just number 401 on the list.
Steve Jobs. The most underpaid man in America. Not that it matters much. he’s the only one on the list, as far as I can tell, who creates anything of enduring value.
And, I bet, it is totally irrelevant to him.
Great man.
With achievements like Apple, NeXT, Pixar…WALL-E he should be #1 on the list
Michael Dell’s assets should be broken up and given back to the Dell stockholders.
Christmas in the Walton household must be an interesting spectacle. Hey sis, i bought you a one of a kind mega-yacht. Oh, thanks brother, but actually, it isn’t one of a kind, cuz i hired that guy to build you one too!
Good grief, the Waltons together total nearly 80 Bil.
1% of the population of the U.S. has 50% of the capital. Capitalism, it’s working just the way it should, just not for everyone.
Mark Zuckerberg is sure realising the potiential magic luck given to him, after feasting off a koala
@Mac-Nugget
And the punishment that 1% gets for being so successful, they are paying 46% of the taxes.
So get off your ass, work hard like they all did to EARN thier fair share, and shut your pie hole.
5.1 billion is a lot of years at Apple earning $1 a year!
Blackwolf, the way I read it Mac-nugget agrees with you
Don’t forget #17: Paul Allen.
It’s not how hard you work, or else folks pulling 2 or 3 shifts a day would be within that 1%. But if you believe that you can be within that 1%, then there system is working just fine. The way it was designed.
BlackWolf, you sound like a pretty dumb dog. Do you think that all of the people on that list have “EARNED” all their income? The only insight the Walton’s had was how to ship money and jobs overseas more quickly/efficiently. And the fact that Bill Gates has 10 times as much money as Steve Jobs is ABSOLUTE PROOF that pure capitalism works? “He’s 10x as smart, His products are 10x as good, and in our perfectly fair system, he deserves 10x as much!”, I suppose.
Fun fact:
Ballmer’s the only one on the list paid that much to demolish his company.