[sys_64738]

The sequence of events are linked. NeXT was hugely successful as it became the foundation of OS X and without it he'd never have returned. The individual product lines were a multiple amounts of luck too (Mac, iPod, iPhone, etc).

[WalterBright]

> The sequence of events are linked

Not really. Look at Jobs' second coming to Apple. He replaced a sequence of CEOs that all failed to turn Apple around. Jobs turned a near-bankrupt company into the biggest company in the world, with the same crew and technology of the near-bankrupt company.

Pixar enormous success was Jobs' doing. Nobody else believed in Pixar.

NeXT was a failure, but Jobs found a way to salvage it.

[sys_64738]

> NeXT was a failure, but Jobs found a way to salvage it.

He sold that failure for $429m.

[WalterBright]

NeXT only sold 50,000 computers, which is considered a failure.

Likely the $400m was really to buy Jobs.