As one of the most talked-about figures, Laurene Powell Jobs has built a significant fortune. Our team analyzed the latest data to provide a clear picture of their income.
What Is Laurene Powell Jobs' Net Worth?
Laurene Powell Jobs is an American billionaire who has a net worth of $10 billion. Laurene Powell Jobs earned her fortune as the widow of Apple founderSteve Jobs. Upon Steve's death in 2011, Laurene instantly became one of the wealthiest women in the world. And while you may assume her wealth comes from Steve's stake in Apple, the majority of the Jobs family fortune actually comes from a large stake in Disney. How?…
Early Life and Meeting Steve
When Steve died, he passed 5.5 million shares of Apple on to Laurene. Over the years, Laurene has earned well over $1 billion in cash dividends. She also sold roughly 10% of her stake every year until 2021, when proxy statements showed she no longer owned a significant amount of Apple shares.
When the stock split 7-1 in 2014, that stake became 38.5 million shares. When the stock split 4-1 in August 2020, that stake would have become 154 million shares. As of this writing, 154 million shares would be worth nearly$30 billion. Every year those shares would produce around $160 million in dividends (technically, $40 million per quarter).
In 2006, Steve sold Pixar to Disney for $7.4 billion. In the sale, he received 138 million Disney shares, roughly 7% of the total shares outstanding. That made him the largest individual owner of Disney stock. At the time of his death, those shares were worth $8 billion. His Apple equity was "only" worth around $2 billion at the time of his death.
Laurene Powell was born November 3, 1963, in West Milford, Connecticut.
Steve Jennings/Getty Images
Laurene inherited full ownership of Steve's Apple and Disney stakes. According to an SEC filing, in 2017, she sold roughly half of her Disney stake, roughly 64.3 million shares, for pre-tax proceeds of roughly $7 billion. The sale left her with roughly 4% of Disney's total outstanding shares. Since she is no longer above 5%, Disney does not have to report her transactions publicly. As of this writing, if she still owns the remainder of her stake, those roughly 74 million shares are worth$7 billion. At various times, those shares have been worth north of $15 billion. Laurene earns around $120 million in cash dividends every year from Disney (technically $60 million semi-annually).
Ultimately, Laurene Powell Jobs's financial journey is a testament to their success.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
