Who inherited Steve Jobs’ fortune after his death and what did he leave behind?

Steve Jobs passed away more than a decade ago and the innovator’s relevance has not faded to this day. The tech pioneer who co-founded Apple and made major strides in the personal computer era would have turned 56 if he were alive today. Even after his demise, Steve Jobs influences innovators and thought leaders in the field of technology. Sir Jony Ive, a close friend and ­collaborator of the late Steve Jobs, says he still often asks himself: “I wonder what Steve would do?” It’s no secret that he was a quiet philanthropist and did not believe in legacy wealth-building. So, who inherited Steve Jobs’ wealth after his death?

Did Steve Jobs’ wife and kids inherit his money after his death?

Steve Jobs left nearly all of his estimated $7 billion estate (equivalent to $9.8 billion/Rs 81,890 crore) to his wife Laurene, while his daughter Lisa and her half-siblings Reed, Erin, and Eva reportedly pursued their own career paths. Steve Jobs passed away in October 2011 after an eight-year battle with pancreatic cancer. His wife Laurene Powell Jobs inherited most of his estate.

She received 40 million Apple shares and 138 million shares in Disney, which Steve had acquired when he sold Pixar to Disney in 2006. In the past, Laurene had talked about how her husband did not believe in hoarding wealth for the next generation; she had also admitted that her fortune will end with her, which implies her kids are unlikely to inherit the money.

“I’m not interested in legacy wealth buildings, and my children know that. Steve wasn’t interested in that. If I live long enough, it ends with me,” Laurene admitted in an interview.

Laurene had donated a large portion of her wealth to humanitarian causes, via Emerson Collective, the charitable organisation she set up in 2004, which focuses on environmental justice, health, immigration, and education. Laurene is also the co-founder of XQ Institute, a non-profit "dedicated to rethinking the high-school experience.” She also has stakes in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the proprietor of several major US teams, including the NBA's Washington Wizards and NHL's Washington Capitals.

Laurene has also donated millions of dollars to the Democratic Party, including $929,600 (£734k) to President Biden's re-election campaign. Laurene's net worth was $20 billion in 2017 but as of 2024, it stands at $14.5 billion.

How much money did Steve Jobs’ kids inherit?

Lisa Brennan-Jobs is Steve Jobs’s oldest child; he fathered her with artist Chrisann Brennan. However, for years he denied his paternity and it’s a matter of public knowledge that Chrisann relied on welfare payments and had to take on cleaning and waitressing jobs to make ends meet. In 1980, the local San Mateo District Attorney sued Steve Jobs for child support.

Following a DNA test, Steve Jobs was ordered to pay child support of $385 a month, which he agreed to increase to $500, as well as cover Lisa's health insurance until she reached the age of 18. Thousa Lisa did share her father’s home with her stepmother and half-siblings during her teenage years, her relationship with Steve wasn’t exactly great.

However, Lisa went on to have a successful writing career. Though most people believe Steve Jobs did not leave anything behind for his children, Lisa did share in a 2018 interview that she wasn't exactly cut out of his will and Jobs left her an inheritance "in the millions", as he did for the rest of his children.

Following Steve’s cancer diagnosis his son Reed Jobs, developed an interest in developing a cure for cancer when he was just 15. In 2023, Reed Jobs announced he is starting a venture capital firm to fund new treatments against cancer. While it’s highly likely that Steve Jobs did leave behind some of his money for Reed, the sum can’t have been too much as Laurene had shared that the couple did not want their kids to rely on inherited wealth. Laurene also believes that the children would get the same opportunities as their father because of their last name.

Erin Siena Jobs is perhaps the most private of all of Steve Jobs’ kids; the 29-year-old studied architecture and reportedly works as a designer in LA but details about her life or inheritance are scarce. Eve Jobs, Steve’s youngest child pursued modelling and has even been spotted in the front browns of major fashion weeks.

Eve made her modelling debut in Glossier’s holiday ad campaign with Sydney Sweeney in 2020, before walking for Corperi during Paris Fashion Week in 2021. Eve also signed with DNA Model Management. Eve is a Stanford graduate and an accomplished equestrian. She began competing when she was just six years old and in 2019, was ranked fifth out of the world’s best 1000 under the age of 25.