⚡ Get All Content for 20% Off ⚡

The Steve Jobs Economy A back-of-the-envelope assessment of how much the ailing CEO has been worth to Apple and to the tech industry overall.

entrepreneur daily

1. The Big Apple Itself

No company has relied on a personality cult as much as Apple has with Steve Jobs. "Apple might well have been out of business by mid-1998 if he hadn't come back," says Jason Snell, editorial director of Macworld, an independent trade magazine. "So he arguably could take credit for every single dollar." Perhaps eyeing the future, Apple has begun to spread the love-to chief operating officer Tim Cook, industrial-design chief Jonathan Ive (below), and head of worldwide product marketing Phil Schiller. Our industry authorities suggest we give Jobs 50 percent of the credit. In the past 12 months, sales were $33 billion.

Jobs' Bite of the Apple: $16.5 billion

2. The Expanding Ecosystem
More than 4,000 accessories for iPods and iPhones are now on the market, everything from Bose speakers to toilet-paper holders doubling as iPod stands. Accessory sales have reached $2 billion a year, though Apple is said to demand up to 10 percent of most items' retail price in fees and royalties. Annual sales of iPhone applications (for which Apple's cut is closer to 30 percent) are at $175 million, making the total value for non-Apple companies $1.9 billion. Throw in the roughly $5 billion a year AT&T earns from its deal as the exclusive iPhone carrier (we're crediting Apple for only new AT&T customers), and the total is $6.9 billion. Then give Jobs his 50 percent cut.

Jobs' Bite of the Apple: $3.5 billion

3. The Competitors
One fringe benefit of Apple's innovations is that they spur the competition to play catch-up.
(Microsoft Zune, anyone?) Jobs took MP3 technology mainstream, so he deserves credit for a slice of the $44 billion his competitors bring in annually. Last year, Amazon reportedly made $39 million from MP3 downloads alone. Would anyone have bothered downloading a single cut without iTunes or the iPod? The same goes for the $64 billion smartphone market. Without the iPhone, there would be no BlackBerry Storm phone or Google Android software. We'll give Jobs 10 percent of the credit for the $108 billion in revenue generated by competitors.

Jobs' Bite of the Apple: $10.8 billion

Bottom Line
The most recent estimate of Jobs' personal net worth was $5.7 billion. But he means much more than that to Apple, its partners, and its competition. On an annual basis, Jobs is the $30.8 billion man.

Steve Jobs' Total Annual Value: $30.8 billion

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Remote Side Hustle a 43-Year-Old Musician Works on for 1 Hour a Day Earns Nearly $3,000 a Month: 'All From the Comfort of Home'

Sam Ziegler wanted to supplement his income as a professional drummer — then his tech skills and desire to help people came together.

Business News

Costco CFO Reveals Uncertain Fate of $1.50 Hot Dog and Soda Combo

CFO Richard Galanti reveals that the price will stay the same — but only "for a while."

Business News

The Most Unexpectedly Popular Side Hustle of the Decade Has Low Startup Costs and High Markups

A new report shows that vending machines are a popular investment — and the industry is set to grow up to $3 billion by 2031.

Marketing

Ever Wonder Why Certain Websites Rank Higher Than Yours? This SEO Expert Reveals The Secret to Dominating Search Results

It's often the smart use of SEO, now supercharged with AI, particularly in keyword optimization.

Business News

AI Is Impacting Jobs. Here Are the Gigs Affected the Most, According to an Analysis of 5 Million Upwork Postings

The researcher said in the report that freelance jobs were analyzed first because that market will likely see AI's immediate impact.

Leadership

Former Interrogator Shares 5 Behaviors Liars Exhibit and How to Handle Them

Five deceptive behaviors to look for and how to respond to those behaviors when you encounter them.