[alanstorm]

There's an interesting story to be told about what makes someone who's already a billionaire keep on in such a hyper-stressful job/career/calling when facing repeated life-threatening illnesses.

We, of course, won't get that story, and will have to settle for a news cycle of the fiduciary responsibility tourettes brigade vs. the hacks who think they're John Gruber screaming at everyone to leave Steve alone.

[zitterbewegung]

I seriously think that he is at the company because he likes his job. He probably identifies strongly at the company and feels that it is his responsibility to stay with the company.

[cosmicray]

Considering his monetary pay is $1/year, I think he really enjoys doing something, where he has the resources, and backing, to "do it right".

And when something doesn't come out right, he can breath a little fire (e.g. MobileMe problems a year back or so)

[knowtheory]

it is a joke to think that $1/year salary has anything to do with Job's remuneration which takes place largely in Apple's stock. The better Apple does, the better he does. He's got incentive, regardless of whatever ersatz salary he nominally receives.

So, yeah, i think he's doing it cause he's a control freak who gets high off of being in charge of one of the most important tech consumer companies in the world. But to claim that he's not benefitting massively off of Apple's continued financial success is definitely not true.

[xal]

That's the understatement of the century. Apple is not a company, it's a exoskeleton for Steve Jobs. The two entirely symbiotic and probably cannot survive on their own anymore.

[kongqiu]

Your "fiduciary responsibility tourettes brigade" is my favorite phrase of the year. Bravo!

[kingkilr]

We're only 17 days in, let's not get ahead of ourselves ;)

[startupcomment]

You are presuming that becoming a billionaire is the end game.

[alanstorm]

No presumptions here, which is why an in-depth story would be so interesting.

[cosmicray]

Make that a $5 billionaire (not counting the Apple stock value).

Back when Disney bought out Pixar, I made a little spreadsheet that calculated how many DIS shares Steve wound up with. Assuming that he has not sold off (or gifted) any/much since then, his DIS stock is now worth slightly more than $5B. It has a net gain of $2B since the Pixar buyout. He is doing what he is doing out of internal motivation (and certainly not because he needs the money).