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How Steve Wozniak Achieved a Net Worth of over $120 Million

Wozniak

Steve Wozniak has amassed an amazing $100 million net worth in his life. We were surprised to discover that he is worth so much less than the late Steve Jobs. Wozniak has a unique perspective on money with an interesting story behind it that is well worth sharing. He started building his net worth in his parents' garage when he co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs. He was not only co-owner, but he was also a brilliant computer and software designer. He left Apple in 1985 with no regrets. Wozniak doesn't have a long portfolio of big business investments, other than his association with Apple. He didn't feel the need to push for higher returns from the company. When he had done what he needed to do, he parted company to pursue his greater passions in life.

Making billions with Steve Jobs

Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs founded the Apple, Inc. company. Together, the Silicon Valley legends forged an empire in a short period of time and they rewards were immense. When Jobs passed away in 2011, he was worth an estimated $10 billion. Wozniak had never quite achieved this amount, but there are no hard feelings about it. Had Wozniak embraced the same values about money as his partner, he would no doubt have been neck and neck with him in the financial arena. Wozniak's wealth was made through Apple, and it's no small wonder that a lot of money has been in his possession.

Taking a different road to success

There is no dispute over the success of Apple and the monetary rewards were mind blowing. It was an amazing experience for Jobs and Wozniak, but the surviving partner took a much different path than Jobs. His estimation of success does not lie in making the maximum amount possible He's content with the $100 million he's currently worth today. Here is how he went from a billionaire to a millionaire.

He doesn't trust money

Steve Wozniak has been very open about his views on money and wealth. You may think that it's easy to talk about it when you're sitting on a hundred million, but when you stop to consider the fact that he could have made different decisions and be worth $8 billion, we'd say the man has an open podium to share his views. He believes that money has the power to corrupt people and to erode their values. Unlike Jobs, he refused to invest.

Wozniak puts his money where his mouth is

Prior to his partner's passing, Wozniak was disappointed when Jobs refused to give workers in the company stock options, so he did something about it. Wozniak took out $10 million of his own and saw to it that they got what he thought was fair. He's a philanthropist who has been generous with his own money and has given funding to a variety of worthy causes. Since 1990, this has been an important part of his life. Wozniak sold a lot of his stock in Apple, offering it to employees on the cheap. He's spent a lot of his own fortune on things he values and at the end of the day, he's not the richest man in the world, but he certainly is doing very well. Perhaps for Steve Wozniak, success comes from making the world a better place for everyone.

Wozniak's current ventures

He's credited with the development of the CL9, which is the first universal remote control that is programmable. He's also involved with the development of a wireless GPS technology company called Wheels of Zeuz, and a flash memory technology company called Fusion-io and a few other related tech organizations.

Honors

Steve Wozniak has received several honors and accolades for his contributions to technology and for his philanthropist efforts. The University of Colorado at Boulder, Santa Clara University, Michigan State University and several other high ranking institutions of higher learning have granted him honorary doctorate degrees. In addition to this, in 2000 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and received numerous other awards for his work in technology and the humanities. He's a big supporter of education and the arts and his work has not gone unrecognized.

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Garrett Parker

Written by Garrett Parker

Garrett by trade is a personal finance freelance writer and journalist. With over 10 years experience he's covered businesses, CEOs, and investments. However he does like to take on other topics involving some of his personal interests like automobiles, future technologies, and anything else that could change the world.

Read more posts by Garrett Parker

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