Fortune magazine names Apple's Steve Jobs CEO of the decade
Runners-up include Gates, Buffett, Page, Brin, Winfrey, Stewart and — wait for it –Â Madoff
Photo: Time Inc.
Steve Jobs is the CEO of the decade, according to the new issue of Fortune magazine.
"Jobs is back," writes Adam Lashinsky in the cover story published Thursday. "It's as if his signature 'one more thing' line now applies to him as well. After a six-month leave of absence in the early part of this year, during which he received a liver transplant, he is once again commanding a 34,000-strong corporate army that is as powerful, awe-inspiring, creative, secretive, bullying, arrogant — and yes, profitable — as at any time since he and his chum Steve Wozniak founded Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) in 1976."
The piece includes the revelation that Jobs twice considered taking Apple private, once in a leveraged buyout with Silver Lake Partners and once a few years earlier with financing lined up by his old friend Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle (ORCL).
Sure to stir controversy is Fortune's provocative list of also rans, which includes, along with some obvious contenders (Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, for example), two convicted felons: Martha Stewart and Bernie Madoff.
CNNMoney.com (which carries this blog) has put together an elaborate online editorial package that includes excerpts from Lashinsky's story, a video of him explaining the choice, praises of Jobs from the rich and famous, celebrities' favorite iPhones apps, an interactive timeline, rarely seen photographs and more. The entry point is here.
[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]
Steve Jobs has led Apple out of the blue many times,he saved it from bankrupcy more than once. Congrats and he deserved it.
Talk about well-deserved! Apple has done as much as any other company to keep America at the forefront of tech. Steve Jobs and all those behind him deserve a medal and maybe even a ticker-tape parade for that alone.
Great choice – Steve Jobs has been magnificent. And his legacy will stand the test of time. Unlike some of your other picks, by the way. For example – jack Welch as CEO of the Century!! What were you ever thinking? As Warren Buffett once said, "you can tell who is swimming naked when the tide goes out". Well from 9/11 on and through this financial crisis, the tide has been out for G.E. And guess what? Welch was swimming naked for the whole market upturn since 1982!! Poor Jeff Immelt – who has been a lot more of a gentlemen about Welch than vice versa. Welch's whole thing for years was financial engineering!! Another naked swimmer is Hank greenberg, late of AIG. Of course, both guys are totally in love with what they see as their achievements. Nothing compared to Jobs, who has added real. sustainable value!!