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First of all, let’s clarify something: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak did not create Apple together. They created the Apple I computer together, which was a hobby project that they sold to a local computer store. The Apple I was not a commercial success, and it did not make them rich.
The real breakthrough came with the Apple II, which was designed by Wozniak and marketed by Jobs. The Apple II was the first personal computer that had color graphics and sound, and it was a huge hit. It made Apple a household name, and it made Jobs and Wozniak millionaires.
But here’s the catch: Jobs owned more shares of Apple than Wozniak. Why? Because Jobs had negotiated a deal with an investor named Mike Markkula, who provided the funding for Apple to grow. Markkula gave Jobs 26% of the company, Wozniak 10%, and himself 33%. The rest went to other employees and partners.
So, from the start, Jobs had more than twice as much stake in Apple as Wozniak. And that gap only widened over time, as Jobs became more involved in the business side of things, while Wozniak focused on engineering. Jobs also had a vision for the future of computing, which led him to create products like the Macintosh, the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad. These products made Apple one of the most valuable companies in the world, and made Jobs one of the richest people in history.
Wozniak, on the other hand, left Apple in 1985, after a plane crash that injured him and made him lose his…