Steve Jobs’ Widow Laurene Powell Following In Husband's Footsteps, Becoming A Force For Good
Steve Jobs' widow Laurene Powell Jobs is following in her husband's footsteps to be a humanitarian force in the world.
The New York Times published an article on May 17 and spoke to those close to the widowed wife of Jobs. Friends shared how Powell Jobs has always been a private figure, but that has started to change two years after her husband's death from cancer. She has pushed for immigration reform, education and has tackled gun control in the past few months. It is the most visible she has been since her husband, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc, died on Oct. 5, 2011. She inherited most of his vast estate and is worth $11.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Prior to this, Powell Jobs was best known in the education field for College Track, which she started in 1997. It helps low-income students from underserved communities for college. It provided academic training and extracurricular activities. The program has more than 1,400 students and has sent 90 percent to college.
Larry Brilliant, president of the Skoll Global Threats Fund ,was an old friend of Jobs. He told the paper that his widow had been mourning long before he died. Brilliant said she mourned for a year but had actually grieved for her husband five years before he died.
"Her life was about her family and Steve, but she is now emerging as a potent force on the world stage, and this is only the beginning," he said.
Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, a philanthropist and lecturer on philanthropy at Stanford, said that her friend was not using her fame and fortune for public recognition. Arrillaga-Andreessen, who has known Powell Jobs for more than two decades, said that her friend wanted to simply be a difference in the lives of people. Arrillaga-Andreessen said that her friend has always been a fervent giver but chose not to make it known.
"If you total up in your mind all of the philanthropic investments that Laurene has made that the public knows about," she said, "that is probably a fraction of 1 percent of what she actually does, and that's the most I can say."
In April, Jobs' widow granted her first interview since his death to NBC's Brian Williams. The interview was mostly framed around immigration reform. However, she did say a few words about her late spouse. She praised him as a loving father and husband and that the Apple products were other living reminders of his legacy.
"I find it touching and inspiring for me to make sure that I continue to do what I'm most passionate about and I hope my kids feel the same way," she said.
