About one billion people use his products today, recognised by their little fruit stickers.
But Steve Jobs – the mastermind behind Apple Inc – isn’t around to see them.
On this day in 2011, Jobs officially resigned as the revolutionary tech company’s CEO to enjoy his last few months alive.
The American businessman was widely recognised as a leader of the personal computer revolution of the 1970s and ’80s, along with Apple Inc co-founder Steve Wozniak.
For decades, Jobs worked tirelessly to develop new and exciting products, from desktop computers to music-playing iPods, touch-screen iPads and mobile phones with built-in cameras.
The man was a powerhouse entrepreneur.
It wasn’t until 2003, when Jobs was diagnosed with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour, that he began to slow down.
At age 56, after an eight-year battle with the cancer, he was forced to accept his time was coming to an end.
But before he died, he needed to pass on his life’s work to a trusted partner.
On August 24, 2011, the company announced that Tim Cook, formerly Apple Inc’s chief operating officer, had taken over, and Jobs would stand down immediately.
“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know,” wrote Jobs, who had been on medical leave since January that year.
“Unfortunately, that day has come.”
The business magnate died of respiratory arrest two months later on October 5, 2011.
His revolutionary products, including the iPod, iPhone and iPad, continue to live on in the hands of a billion people around the world today.
