Steve Jobs’ widow has already spent half of her inheritance: this is how she is fulfilling the legacy of the Apple founder
Having received a multi-billion-dollar inheritance from her late husband, Laurene Powell Jobs says she is fulfilling the wish he left her.
The widow of Apple co‑founder Steve Jobs, Laurene Powell Jobs, has seen her fortune shrink by roughly $5 billion - about half of the inheritance her late husband left her in 2011, when he died at age 56.
At the time of his death, Jobs left most of his wealth to his wife and children in the form of Apple and Disney stock. Those holdings have grown significantly in value since then, generating even more wealth for his surviving spouse.
But as Powell Jobs revealed in an interview with the New York Times, before he passed away, Jobs asked her not to let his fortune outlive them. He wanted the money to be returned to society - the same society, he insisted, from which he had gained so much. Powell Jobs has made it her mission to honor that request, steadily directing money toward global social causes year after year.
“I inherited my wealth from my husband, who didn’t care about the accumulation of wealth,” Powell Jobs said. “I am doing this in honor of his work, and I’ve dedicated my life to doing the very best I can to distribute it effectively, in ways that lift up individuals and communities in a sustainable way.”
Where has the money gone?
A significant portion of Powell Jobs’ wealth has gone into Emerson Collective, an organization focused on impact investing, philanthropy, and advocacy around environmental justice, health, immigration, and education. She serves as president of the group and owns 70% of its shares.
It’s estimated that Powell Jobs has already donated more than $2 billion to charitable causes through this fund. She has also reportedly been selling roughly 10% of her Disney shares each year since 2011.
In addition, she pledged in 2021 to donate $3.5 billion over 10 years to organizations developing innovative solutions to climate change, a commitment she is fulfilling through the Waverley Street Foundation.
Powell Jobs and Steve Jobs were married for 20 years, and although she has maintained a deliberately low public profile since his passing, she has said she is fully committed to honoring his legacy. “If I live long enough, [the inherited fortune] ends with me,” she said.
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