Apple Still Pays Co-Founder Steve Wozniak a Salary

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak left the company in 1985 but has been getting weekly paychecks till date, he revealed. Woz was recently on Guy Kawasaki's Remarkable People podcast where he spoke about Steve Jobs, Apple, and his paycheck, of only $50 a week. He also claims to be the only person getting a paycheck since the start of the company.

“I'm still an Apple employee. The only person who's received a paycheck every week since we started the company. I get a small paycheck and, out of it, after whatever goes into the funds that companies have for saving your money... I think I get $50 a week or something into my bank account after taxes”, Woz shared. This amounts to $2,600 a year which might seem pretty humble but rather than the monetary value, the symbolic value of the paycheck is what matters more.

Talking about the company he co-founded, Woz said that he always has strong feelings for it but because he's “just too outspoken and honest”, he cannot be on the inside of the company's operations. During the podcast, Woz shared that he feels money changes people so he's not bothered by it.

He does not follow stocks and has never looked at his Apple stocks. It is well known that while he was working at Apple, he let Steve Jobs take care of the business side of things while he spent his time on software and hardware engineering.

But, he doesn't shy away from expressing his concerns with the company. When Apple decided to remove the headphone jack from its phones, Woz slammed the company for doing so. He also called the Apple Watch “not a compelling purchase”.

Rightfully so, Steve Wozniak does not need to run after money. Over the years, he has amassed a net worth of more than $100 million from his business ventures and stocks.

February 06, 2020