Born in 1955 in San Francisco, California, United States, and dying in 2011, Steve Jobs was a renowned figure in the business world. Through innovative products and services, he played a pivotal role in revolutionizing industries such as personal computing, music, smartphones, and animation.
In 1976, when he was just 23 years old, Jobs and his friend Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computers, a company they started in a garage before they raised enough money to move into an office. One of his greatest innovations was the creation of the iPod, a portable digital music player, and iTunes, a digital media management application. Together, they transformed the music industry by making it easy for users to purchase, store, and listen to digital music.
His visionary leadership, design aesthetic, and ability to create products seamlessly blending technology and artistry make us suspect that Steve Jobs had exceptional intelligence.
But how smart was he? What was the IQ of Steve Jobs?
Let's find out.
What Was Steve Jobs' Exact IQ Score?
There's no public record or confirmation that Steve Jobs ever took an IQ test. Jobs never publicly disclosed his IQ score, nor is there any indication that he participated in such assessments. That doesn't stop many fans' curiosity about the business mogul's IQ.
Intelligence experts and historians estimate that Steve Jobs likely had an IQ of around 160, which makes him as smart as Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and Albert Einstein, who have similar genius-level IQ scores.
People with an IQ roughly 160 and above are highly intelligent and often demonstrate exceptional pattern recognition, vast knowledge, abstract thinking, and problem-solving capacity. They can easily and quickly analyze and process complex information, allowing them to shine in science, mathematics, and technology. These traits can be seen in all four as they are considered pioneers in technology and have excelled in their respective fields.
According to Bill Gates (the other wunderkind genius), "Software is basically an IQ business."
Different Ways Steve Jobs' Life Showed He Had Exceptional Intelligence
There is no doubt that Steve Jobs was intelligent. The man grew Apple from a struggling company to a thriving one by introducing stylish designs and ingenious products such as the iMac. Here is how Steve Jobs' smart nature shined through his personal and professional lives.
Steve Jobs was overly smart from a young age. In Walter Isaacson's biography, at the end of 4th grade, Jobs was tested by his teachers, who saw it wise to have him jump a class because they thought he was too bright. Jobs said: "I scored at the high school sophomore level," meaning he was a 4th grader performing at the 10th-grade standard. The average 4th grader is 9 to 10 years old, while the average 10th grader is 15 and 16.
This incident is often cited as an early indication of his exceptional intelligence, knowledge, maturity, and ability to excel academically and intellectually.
He later dropped out of Reed College but continued to audit classes that interested him, such as calligraphy and typography. His ability to absorb knowledge independently and apply it creatively reflects a high level of intelligence and intellectual curiosity.
Innovative Products
Jobs co-founded Apple Inc. and played a pivotal role in developing revolutionary products such as the Macintosh, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. His ability to conceptualize and bring cutting-edge technologies to the market demonstrated his forward-thinking intelligence, honed by great intuition and instinct. Without overly relying on market research, he managed to use his intimate intuition to know the desires of his customers and bring them to fruition.
Business Acumen
Jobs demonstrated astute business intelligence by transforming Apple from a struggling company in the 1990s to one of the world's most valuable and influential corporations. He made strategic decisions, such as focusing on a limited number of product lines and investing in design and marketing, which propelled Apple's success. His ability to focus on a few products rather than producing a random huddle of computers saved Apple.
Under his leadership, Apple expanded its retail presence with the launch of the Apple Store retail chain. This direct-to-consumer approach allowed Apple to control the customer experience and further strengthen its brand.
Design Aesthetic
Jobs' emphasis on minimalist and user-friendly design showcased his intelligence. He understood the importance of aesthetics and usability in technology products, which set Apple apart from its competitors and attracted a loyal customer base.
Jobs knew people formed an opinion about a company or product through its packaging and presentation. He, therefore, had meticulous attention to detail when designing and packaging Apple products because he wanted them to speak directly to the customer from the word go.
Visionary Leadership
Jobs' visionary leadership style also highlighted his intelligence. He had a clear vision for the future of technology. He could inspire and motivate his team to achieve ambitious goals. His ability to articulate a compelling vision and rally people around it was also a testament to his high intelligence. To quote Jobs, "If you want to make everyone happy, don't be a leader. Sell ice cream."
Even though many who didn't know him viewed him as a bully, those who worked with Jobs admitted that his ability to push people helped them perform extraordinary feats. His friend and co-founder Steve Wozniak claimed he could finish a game called Breakout in four days instead of months because Jobs kept staring at him.
Strategic Partnerships
Jobs forged strategic partnerships with key players in the technology industry, such as Microsoft and Intel, demonstrating his ability, intelligence, and knowledge to navigate complex business relationships. These partnerships contributed to Apple's success and underscored Jobs' genius intelligence in building alliances to further the company's goals.
Personal Growth
Despite facing setbacks and personal challenges throughout his life, like dropping out of college and being ousted from Apple in 1985, Jobs continuously sought to learn and grow. He was known for his intellectual curiosity and willingness to explore new ideas and technologies, reflecting his intelligence and adaptability. He believed in getting different life experiences to avoid making the same connections as most people.
Intelligence Beyond Steve Jobs' IQ
There is no doubt that Steve Jobs had high intelligence. I mean, the man co-founded one of the best technology companies in the world in his parent's garage; he was thrown out in 1985 and returned in 1997 to save Apple from near bankruptcy.
Before he died in 2011, Jobs had built Apple to the highest standards and made it one of the biggest technology giants in the world. His journey had him transform seven industries: digital publishing, personal computing, music, animated movies, retail stores, tablet computing, and phones.
Steve Jobs was indeed smart, but so were many employees at the Apple campus. So, was his intelligence the only contributing factor to his success? Of course not. As biographer Walter Isaacson argued, Jobs was not overly intelligent in the traditional sense where you're supposed to solve problems through rigorous analytical pursuit. He relied more on his "imaginative leaps" that were unexpected, intuitive, and at times magical.
Steve Jobs himself had this to say about what was the best manifestation of high IQ:
"A lot of it is memory (ability to retain information). But a lot of it is the ability to zoom out like you're in a city, and you could look at the whole thing from the 80th floor down at the city. And while other people are trying to figure out how to get from to point A to point B, reading these stupid little maps, you can see it in front of you. You can see the whole thing."
The ability to see the whole picture from a high vantage point, like viewing a city from the 80th floor, allowed Steve Jobs to identify and select specific products from various options. This perspective enabled him to ensure these products would resonate with and appeal to his target audience rather than just following the same old patterns and ideas.
Steve Jobs' achievements were due to many things other than his intelligence. For instance, his personal charisma could enable him to peddle ice cream in the middle of winter. Therefore, while only a fool would argue that intelligence isn't important, it's the foundation and not the only component of success. Like Jobs, you also need effort, intellectual curiosity, and a tremendous, innovative team behind you. Having a personality that makes you likable can also go really far.
While an IQ score gives you some insight into your cognitive abilities, it doesn't account for other types of intelligence, such as social intelligence, emotional intelligence, practical intelligence, and creative intelligence, which all make a human whole.
The common marks of intelligence are the ability to learn quickly, understand abstract concepts, and think logically. It is also the capacity to learn, relearn, and unlearn when necessary. A highly intelligent person can learn quickly and retain information acquired for a long time.
Therefore, while Jobs' high intelligence and achievements are widely regarded and recognized, they are still, to a point, more accurately assessed through his contributions to technology and innovation rather than any specific test score.
Beyond his high intelligence, Steve Jobs was an ordinary person. He got angry and clashed with others. He was fascinated with Eastern philosophy and even took his son, Reed, to Kyoto to see the Zen temples and gardens when he became a teenager.
The True Genius of Steve Jobs: Inspiration for Us All!
Steve Jobs’ story is a testament to the fact that intelligence and knowledge are only part of the equation.
While many might focus on the standard mental age or the upper bound of an IQ score, Jobs called upon multiple intelligences to drive his success. His ability to zoom out, see the big picture, and avoid getting lost in "stupid little maps" of everyday details set him apart.
Jobs’ genius wasn't just about raw intelligence; it was his unique connections and insights that mattered. He looked beyond the same bag of conventional wisdom and ventured into uncharted territories. This approach allowed him to achieve a net worth and influence that few could imagine.
For those of us with IQs in the normal range, there’s a powerful lesson to be learned. Success is not confined to the upper bound of a test score. It's about leveraging your personality traits and unique talents, thinking creatively, and forging meaningful connections.
Whether you're at a 10th-grade level, under, or beyond, your potential is vast. Steve Jobs' legacy proves that while intelligence is important, it's the application of that intelligence in innovative and impactful ways that truly defines genius.
So, embrace your strengths, think outside the box, and remember that success is within reach for everyone, regardless of where they start.
