The Apple co-founder recently emerged on social media to lend some insight into his controversial decision.
Building a business, in large part, is about making money. But entrepreneurs oftentimes get so deep in the weeds while getting an idea off the ground or running their business that they lose sight of what really matters. Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak reminded the world last week of his take on money: it isn’t everything.
The Woz is a tech whiz, and the brains behind the software and hardware of Apple’s earliest computers. When he left Apple in 1985, he went on to start new tech companies, fund museums and support education. By now he could have been the second wealthiest man alive—if he hadn’t sold all of his Apple shares in the ’80s.
Some people think he made a huge mistake.
“Smart man. Great engineer. Bad decision. Happens to all of us,” says one Slashdot user.
Then last week, on his 75th birthday, Wozniak joined the conversation.
“I gave all my Apple wealth away because wealth and power are not what I live for,” Wozniak says. “I am the happiest person ever. Life to me was never about accomplishment, but about Happiness, which is Smiles minus Frowns. I developed these philosophies when I was 18-20 years old and I never sold out.”
Several studies have dived into the relationship between wealth and happiness, but there isn’t yet one clear correlation. A 2023 study conducted by Princeton University’s Barbara Mellers and Daniel Kahneman and University of Pennsylvania’s Matthew Killingsworth found that higher income is generally associated with higher levels of happiness, with a catch: there are still groups whose happiness stagnates once they reach $100,000 in annual income.
“In the simplest terms, this suggests that for most people, larger incomes are associated with greater happiness. The exception is people who are financially well-off but unhappy,” Killingsworth says. “For instance, if you’re rich and miserable, more money won’t help.”
So, whether or not money makes us happier may depend on the individual. Either way, Wozniak’s message is a good one: develop a philosophy and stick to it. You just hopefully won’t have to pass up on billions of dollars in the process.