Family dynamics are rarely simple, even for billionaires, and Apple co-founder Steve Jobs was no exception. His tumultuous history with ex-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan, with whom he shares a daughter, Lisa, now 47, is well known. However, a surprising detail about his inheritance plan has come to light.
While Steve Jobs and his wife, Laurene Powell, made it clear that they wouldn’t leave any money to their three children, Lisa was an exception. Though wealth may not be the driving force for Reed, Erin, and Eve, who have built their own careers in healthcare investments, architecture, and modeling, respectively, Lisa, a writer, did receive a sizable sum.
At the time of his passing in 2011, Jobs was one of the world’s richest men, with a net worth of $10.2 billion, thanks to his role as Apple’s co-founder and largest shareholder. While the bulk of his wealth went to his widow, Laurene Powell, Lisa Brennan reportedly inherited around $20 million. Their relationship, which evolved from denial to reluctant acceptance, remained complicated throughout his life.
Compared to Laurene’s vast fortune, Lisa’s inheritance might seem modest, but it was more than what his other children received. Over the years, Jobs had been an inconsistent father, his sporadic presence exposed Lisa to moments of luxury, from lavish vacations to abrupt absences. According to Fortune, a decade before his death, Lisa’s mother requested that Jobs, then a billionaire, atone for his past behavior with a $25 million payment to her and an additional $5 million for Lisa, who was 27 at the time.
Jobs, then 50 and serving as CEO of both Apple and Pixar, was worth an estimated $3 billion but chose not to respond. Ultimately, however, he did leave his firstborn a sum comparable to what her mother once requested, an ironic twist given that he named one of Apple’s early computers, the Apple Lisa, after her.
As for his other three children with Laurene Powell Jobs, their stance on inheritance was made clear by Laurene herself in a 2020 interview with The New York Times: “It’s not right for people to accumulate a huge amount of wealth that’s equivalent to millions and millions that other people have generated. It’s not fair.” Today, Laurene is worth $15 billion and is the founder and president of Emerson Collective, an organization focused on impact investing, philanthropy, and advocacy.
Not just the Jobs family, but the Gates family also held a similar view on inheritance. While Steve Jobs left nothing for his children, Bill Gates, despite his $106 billion fortune, set aside a modest $10 million for each of his three kids. With their parents divorced, it’s possible they may receive a bit more from each, but only time will tell.
