Steve Jobs Biography: How He Used His Millions - Refused to Have License Plates
Since Steve Jobs’ death, stories of his genius and ingenuity have dominated headlines, but rarely is anything ever heard about his lifestyle itself – what did he do with his money prior to dying?
Possessing one of the richest companies in the world, Apple, Jobs himself only took a $1 a year salary from the corporation. Even so, Jobs had amassed vast wealth due to his involvement with Pixar, his first run with Apple, computer company NeXt, and residual money made by Apple not involuntarily made through salary.
What did one of the wealthiest men in the world do with his money?
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It is well known that Jobs was very frugal with his money, "I did not want to live that nutso lavish lifestyle that so many people do when they get rich," said Walter Isaacson writer of a Steve jobs biography.
"I saw a lot of other people at Apple, especially after we went public, how it changed them," Jobs said in a recorded interview with CNN before his death. "And a lot of people thought that they had to start being rich. I mean, a few people went out and bought Rolls Royces, and they bought homes, and their wives got plastic surgery. I saw these people who were really nice simple people turn into these bizarro people. And I made a promise to myself to myself, I said I'm not gonna let this money ruin my life."
Although Jobs saved his billions, even opting for making his signature jeans and a black turtleneck a uniform trademark, Jobs did like to splurge on cars.
Shortly before his death he was driving a Mercedes SL55 AMG with no license plates and reportedly would park in handicap spaces with no disregard.
Jobs stated he didn't want to have license plates because of privacy reasons, and when someone close to him said not having plates actually brought more attention to him, he changed his answer to "because I don't."
Many rumors said Jobs won a special dispensation from California authorities or was issuing it as a challenge to police to stop him because of his disdain for not having his own authority.
An interview with a former Apple security executive told ITWire about Jobs finding a loophole in the California vehicle law, where it says a driver has up to six months to get plates for a vehicle.
Jon Callas, chief technical officer of Entrust, said Jobs arranged his Mercedes leases to switch out his silver vehicle every six month for a new identical model.
