Steve Wozniak Net Worth
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What is Steve Wozniak Net Worth?
Steve Wozniak Net Worth is US$ 140 Million as of Janaury 2023.
| Net Worth | US$ 140 Million |
| Born | August 11, 1950 (73 Years) |
| Full Name | Stephen Gary Wozniak |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 5’ 5” |
| Horoscope | Leo |
| Country of Origin | United States of America |
| Source of Wealth | Programmer, Engineer, Entrepreneur, Businessperson, Inventor, Computer Scientist, Scientist, Actor, Film Producer |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse | Alice Robertson (m. 1976–1980) Candice Clark (m. 1981–1987) Suzanne Mulkern (m. 1990–2004) Janet Hill (m. 2008) |
| Children | Jesse John Wozniak, Stephen Gary Wozniak Jr., and Sara Nadine Wozniak |
| Famous For | As One Of The Founders Of Apple And As The Inventor Of The Apple II Computer |
Table of Contents
Biography
Steve Wozniak is an American computer engineer, inventor, and businessman (often referred to as “Woz”). He is renowned for helping to create Apple Inc. in 1976 alongside Ronald Wayne and Steve Jobs.
Wozniak is a well-known personality in the technology sector and a pioneer of the personal computer revolution. He has won various honors for his contributions, including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from 1985 and the Heinz Prize in Technology, the Economy, and Employment from 2000.
Timeline
Early Life
Stephen Gary Wozniak was born on August 11, 1950, and raised in San Jose, California, where his father worked as a chief engineer for the Lockheed Corporation.
Steve and Jobs attended Homestead High School, although Steve graduated from high school earlier and did not become friends until much later. After being detected hacking the university’s computer by Colorado officials, Steve left the university and enrolled at De Anza College.
He attended UC Berkeley after spending a short time at De Anza. Woz would later collaborate with Jobs after getting to know him through Bill Hernandez, a mutual acquaintance.
Career
Woz immediately left Berkeley and started working as a calculator designer for Hewlett-Packard. Jobs was hired by HP as well. The two became close at this point.
After leaving HP, Jobs joined video game developer Atari, whose creator, Nolan Bushnell, offered a $100 reward for every chip destroyed in the game Breakout. Jobs presented Woz with the task and promised him half of the reward they would receive despite his lack of experience with circuit board designs. Woz ultimately took 50 chips out of the game. Later, there would be some debate regarding how open Jobs was with Woz about the money he eventually received from Bushnell. Jobs allegedly informed Woz that he had only received US$ 700 from Bushnell while he had received US$ 5,000.
Apple
Wozniak started working on the Apple 1 computer’s design in 1975. Jobs encouraged Woz to start a business with him after being impressed by what he had witnessed. Woz asked that HP be given a chance to purchase the technology because he felt terrible about developing the Apple 1 while employed with HP. Woz and Jobs decided to start their own business after HP turned them down.
Ronald Wayne, an Atari coworker, was contacted for funding by Jobs. Ronald wrote the initial Apple 1 manual, created the partnership agreements, gave some start-up funding, and offered general “adult supervision” for the new start-up in exchange for 10% of the business. Just 12 days later, Ronald gave his 10% stock back to Jobs and Woz for US$ 800, which may have been the worst business mistake in history.
The initial Apple computer prototypes were cobbled together by Wozniak and Jobs in Jobs’ bedroom and later in his garage. There were about 200 Apple 1 units made. Selling all but 25. Each of them costs US$ 666.66.
Woz oversaw the team that created the Apple II series, one of the first lines of commercially successful personal computers, in 1974. The initial Apple hardware, operating system, and circuit board designs are all attributed to Wozniak alone. The personal computer revolution of the 1970s is credited with being influenced by Wozniak’s devices and inventions.
IPO
Apple’s earnings were US$ 175,000 in 1976. Revenues increased to US$ 2.7 million in 1977. After making US$ 117 million in sales, Apple went public in 1980. Almost 300 Apple employees became instant millionaires due to the public offering. Woz and Jobs would soon have hundreds of millions of dollars in combined financial value. Woz’s propensity to give shares to coworkers he believed deserved a more significant interest in the company made him less valuable than he may have been.
After Apple
Woz suffered severe brain damage in a plane crash that almost killed him in 1981. He was forced to virtually stop working at Apple because of the incident for several years when he finished his degree at UC Berkeley under a false name.
He eventually returned to Apple, but by 1985, he had left again. He never formally resigned or ended his association with Apple, technically. Woz continues to be classified as an Apple employee and gets paid US$ 120,000 a year to represent the firm at public events.
To develop wireless GPS technology that would make it easier for the average person to discover objects on the street, Wheels of Zeus, also known as WoZ, was co-founded by Wozniak in 2001. Since leaving Apple, Wozniak has given the local school district’s technology program all the funding and a sizable amount of on-site technical help. Wozniak founded the Un.U.Son (Unite Us In Song) foundation to help fund his charitable and educational endeavors.
In 2000, Steve Wozniak was admitted to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
He started an online technical school called Woz U in 2017.
Steve Wozniak Net Worth Growth
Steve Wozniak had a US$ 140 million net worth. During a long career, Wozniak made much of his money as a computer programmer, inventor, and businessman. His involvement in creating Apple Computer is responsible for a significant portion.
Highlights
The following Apple patents list Wozniak as the sole inventor:
- US Patent No. 4,136,359: “Microcomputer for use with video display”—for which he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
- US Patent No. 4,210,959: “Controller for the magnetic disc, recorder, or the like”
- US Patent No. 4,217,604: “Apparatus for digitally controlling PAL color display”
- US Patent No. 4,278,972: “Digitally-controlled color signal generation means for use with display”
Favourite Quotes from Steve Wozniak
“Never trust a computer you can’t throw out a window.”
– Steve Wozniak
“Wherever smart people work, doors are unlocked.”
– Steve Wozniak
“It would be nice to design a real briefcase – you open it up and it’s your computer but it also stores your books.”
– Steve Wozniak
“Don’t worry that you can’t seem to come up with sure billion dollar winners at first. Just do projects for yourself for fun. You’ll get better and better.”
– Steve Wozniak
“Everything we did we were setting the tone for the world.”
– Steve Wozniak
“My goal wasn’t to make a ton of money. It was to build good computers. I only started the company when I realized I could be an engineer forever.”
– Steve Wozniak
“I worked with such concentration and focus and I had hundreds of obscure engineering or programming things in my head. I was just real exceptional in that way.”
– Steve Wozniak
Key Life Lessons from Steve Wozniak
1. Serving others is serving God.
Steve Wozniak might not think that there is a God. Nonetheless, he goes above and beyond the generous gifts, he makes to advance deserving causes for humanity compared to many other prosperous businesspeople who identify as religious.
2. The bottom line isn’t always money.
Wozniak doesn’t hold back when he expresses his contempt for money. He once said I never wanted to be wealthy; therefore, I gave my riches away. I want to earn a living for my family. We can afford to live here since I’ve done well, but we’re not wealthy. Justice and equality are more important to me than money.
3. Look for friends who share your interests.
The meeting between Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak was relatively informal. Yet, the two immediately fell in love when Wozniak found Jobs and shared his passion for computer development. One of the world’s most prosperous IT conglomerates was founded due to their relationship.
Frequently Asked Questions
The net worth of Wozniak is estimated to be US$ 140 million.
He is famous for being the co-founder of the notable Apple Inc.
Summary
Steve Wozniak is an American computer engineer, inventor, and businessman. He is renowned for helping to create Apple Inc. in 1976 alongside Ronald Wayne and Steve Jobs. He has won various honors for his contributions, including the National Medal of Technology and Innovation from 1985 and the Heinz Prize in Technology, the Economy, and Employment from 2000. His early life was spent in San Jose, California, where his father worked as a chief engineer for Lockheed Corporation. After being detected hacking the university’s computer by Colorado officials, Steve left the university and enrolled at De Anza College.
He later collaborated with Jobs after getting to know him through Bill Hernandez. Jobs encouraged Woz to start a business with him after being impressed by what he had witnessed. After HP turned them down, Woz and Jobs decided to start their own business. Ronald gave his 10% stock back to Jobs and Woz for US$ 800, which may have been the worst business mistake in history. The initial Apple computer prototypes were cobbled together by Wozniak and Jobs in Jobs’ bedroom and garage.
Woz oversaw the team that created the Apple II series and the initial Apple hardware, operating system, and circuit board designs. Apple’s earnings were US$ 175,000 in 1976, revenues increased to US$ 2.7 million in 1977, and Apple went public in 1980. Steve Wozniak had a US$ 140 million net worth due to his involvement in creating Apple Computer, Wheels of Zeus, and Un.U.Son foundations. He was admitted to the National Inventors Hall of Fame and started an online technical school called Woz U in 2017.
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