Laurene Powell Jobs ( Powell; born November 6, 1963)United States birth records is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

businesswoman and executive. She is the founder and chair of

Emerson Collective Emerson Collective is a for-profit corporation focused on education, immigration reform, the environment, media and journalism, and health. Founded by Laurene Powell Jobs, this limited liability company (LLC) uses philanthropy, impact investing, ...

and

XQ Institute XQ Institute is an Oakland, California-based nonprofit organization that develops programs to improve high school education in the United States. The institute began with XQ: The Super School Project, to identify new ideas to reform schools and ...

. Powell Jobs resides in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish language, Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree kno ...

, with her three children. She is the widow of

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...

, co-founder and former CEO of

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...

, and she manages the Steve Jobs Trust. She has recently been a major donor to Democratic Party politicians.

Early life and career

Powell Jobs grew up in

West Milford, New Jersey West Milford is a township in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 25,850, reflecting a decline of 560 (−2.1%) from the 26,410 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in ...

. She earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in political science from the

University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences The University of Pennsylvania School of Arts and Sciences (also known as SAS) is the academic institution encompassing the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. Formerly known as the Faculty of A ...

and a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

degree in economics from the

Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a Private university, private Ivy League rese ...

in 1985. She received her

M.B.A. A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as account ...

degree from the

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the graduate business school of Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective business schoo ...

in 1991. In October 1989, Steve Jobs gave a "View from the Top" lecture at Stanford Business School. Laurene Powell was a new MBA student and sneaked to the front of the lecture and started up a conversation with Jobs, who was seated next to her. They ended up having dinner together that night. A year and a half later, on March 18, 1991, they married in a ceremony at the

Ahwahnee Hotel The Ahwahnee Hotel is a grand hotel in Yosemite National Park, California, on the floor of Yosemite Valley. It was built by the Yosemite Park and Curry Company and opened for business in 1927. The hotel is constructed of steel, stone, concre ...

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

. Presiding over the wedding was

Kōbun Chino Otogawa (February 1, 1938 – July 26, 2002) was an American Sōtō Zen priest. Biography Otogawa, who preferred to be called by his first name, rather than by either of the Japanese Zen honorifics: ''sensei'' (teacher) or ''roshi'' (master), came ...

, a Zen Buddhist monk. Their son, Reed, was born in September 1991, followed by daughters Erin in 1995 and Eve in 1998. Laurene is also the stepmother of

Lisa Brennan-Jobs Lisa Nicole Brennan-Jobs ( Brennan; born May 17, 1978) is an American writer. She is the daughter of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Chrisann Brennan. Jobs initially denied paternity for several years, which led to a legal case and various media ...

, Steve's daughter from a previous relationship, who was born in 1978. Powell Jobs co-founded Terravera, a

natural food Natural food and all-natural food are terms in food labeling and marketing with several definitions, often implying foods that are not manufactured by processing. In some countries like the United Kingdom, the term "natural" is defined and regu ...

s company that sold to retailers throughout

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. She also served on the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of Achieva, which created online tools to help students study more effectively at standardized testing. Before business school, Powell Jobs worked for

Merrill Lynch Merrill (officially Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated), previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investment bank ...

Asset Management and spent three years at

Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...

as a fixed-income trading strategist. In 1997, Powell Jobs co-founded College Track together with Carlos Watson. In 2017, Powell Jobs purchased a 20 percent stake in the ownership group Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which holds the NBA's

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast D ...

, NHL's

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

, and

Capital One Arena Capital One Arena is an indoor arena in Washington, D.C. Located in the Penn Quarter neighborhood, the arena sits atop the Gallery Place (WMATA station), Gallery Place rapid transit station of the Washington Metro. It has been largely considered ...

. She was the second-largest shareholder behind chairman

Ted Leonsis Theodore John Leonsis (born January 8, 1957) is an American businessman, investor, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and former politician. He is a former senior executive with America Online (AOL), and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Monumen ...

Steve Jobs's death

On October 5, 2011, at the age of 56,

, the CEO of Apple, died due to complications from a relapse of islet cell neuroendocrine

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

. Powell Jobs inherited the Steven P. Jobs Trust, which as of May 2013 had a 7.3% stake in

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

worth about $12.1 billion, and 38.5 million shares of Apple Inc. , Powell Jobs and her family were ranked 59th in the ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

annual list of the world's billionaires and 30th in Forbes 400. According to the same list, she is the wealthiest woman in the technology industry.

Activism and later career

In 2004, Powell Jobs founded the

, a private company structured as a Limited Liability Company, that supports social entrepreneurs and organizations working in education and immigration reform, social justice, media, and journalism and conservation through partnerships, grants, and investments. Through Emerson, Powell Jobs owns ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' and a stake in

Axios Axios commonly refers to: * Axios (river), a river that runs through Greece and North Macedonia * ''Axios'' (website), an American news and information website Axios may also refer to: Brands and enterprises * Axios, a brand of suspension produ ...

. In the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Powell Jobs donated $2 million to

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

and raised a further $4 million for her. Powell Jobs was an early investor in, and board member of, Ozy. In addition, Ozy credited her as a "contributor." In 2017, she backed the founding of the political organization

ACRONYM An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

, which raised ethical questions for Powell Jobs for its creation of

Courier Newsroom Courier Newsroom is a digital media company which produces pink-slime journalism and sponsors political content intended to support Democratic candidates. The goal of Courier Newsroom publications, according to an internal memo obtained by Vice N ...

. In 2018, she issued a statement that the book ''Small Fry'' by her stepdaughter, Lisa Brennan, contains false information about

as a father.

Philanthropy

In 1997, Powell Jobs and Carlos Watson co-founded College Track, a nonprofit organization in

East Palo Alto East Palo Alto (abbreviated E.P.A.) is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of East Palo Alto was 30,034. It is situated on the San Francisco Peninsula, roughly halfway between the cities of ...

to improve high school graduation, college enrollment, and college graduation rates for "underserved" students. Of College Track's high school graduates, many of whom are first-generation college students, about 90 percent attend four-year colleges, and 70 percent finish college in six years, whereas the national average for first-generation college students is 24 percent. College Track has facilities in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Watts Watts is plural for ''watt'', the unit of power. Watts may also refer to: People *Watts (surname), list of people with the surname Watts Fictional characters *Watts, main character in the film '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' *Watts family, six chara ...

Boyle Heights Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, Arapahoe, Adams County, Colorado, Adams, and Douglas County, Colorado, Douglas List of counties in Colorado, ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, area. "We have a wait list of five cities where we'd like to open up centers," Powell Jobs has said. "We want to keep our standards high, though, and are reluctant to grow through franchising or through dissemination of our curriculum and training." In September 2015, Powell Jobs launched a $50 million project to create high schools with new approaches to education. Called XQ: The Super School Project, the initiative aims to inspire teams of educators, students, and community leaders to create and implement new plans for high schools. Efforts include altering school schedules, curriculums and technologies in order to replace the country's century-old high school education model. Funding for XQ comes from Powell Jobs' Emerson Collective. Following an initial $50 million financial contribution, XQ announced an additional contribution, awarding ten schools $10 million each, for a total financial contribution of $100 million. The schools were chosen from approximately 700 submissions nationwide. Powell Jobs's team of advisors is led by Russlynn H. Ali. Powell Jobs is a founding member of the Climate Leadership Council. As of 2018, Powell Jobs sits on the board of directors of College Track, Conservation International, and Stanford University. She is chair of the board of directors of XQ and also sits on the chairman's advisory board of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

. In 2014, she was ranked as the 29th most powerful woman in the world by ''Forbes''. Her ranking rose from #39 in 2013. Powell Jobs's philanthropy has been described as of limited "transparency and accountability." In 2019, Powell Jobs was named the "Least Transparent Mega-Giver" by ''

Inside Philanthropy ''Inside Philanthropy'' is a news website about large philanthropic foundations and wealthy donors, created by David Callahan David Callahan (born 1964/1965) is an American writer and editor. He is the founder and editor of ''Inside Philan ...

''.

References

External links

*
"Laurene Powell Jobs, Emerson Collective: Profile and Biography"
Bloomberg Markets
"Bloomberg Billionaires Index - Laurene Powell Jobs"
Bloomberg
"Board Member Laurene Powell Jobs"
Council on Foreign Relations {{DEFAULTSORT:Powell Jobs, Laurene 1963 births American billionaires American philanthropists American women business executives Businesspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area California Democrats Female billionaires Family of Steve Jobs Goldman Sachs people Living people National Basketball Association executives National Basketball Association owners National Hockey League executives National Hockey League owners People from Palo Alto, California People from West Milford, New Jersey Stanford University alumni Stanford University trustees The Atlantic (magazine) people Washington Capitals owners Washington Mystics owners Washington Wizards owners Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni American women company founders American company founders Women's National Basketball Association executives