Steve Jobs tops CNBC ‘First 25’ to impact business and finance since 1989

30 Apr 2014

The late former CEO and co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs

Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has topped CNBC’s 25th anniversary list of the ‘First 25’ – those leaders who are judged to have had the most profound impact on business and finance since 1989.

From a technology perspective, former Microsoft chairman Bill Gates comes in at No 2 on the ‘First 25 list’ while Google’s co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Google chairman Eric Schmidt share the No 4 spot.

Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos is No 5 on the list, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg ranks at No 8, and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison fills the No 10 spot on the list.

HP CEO Meg Whitman is No 18 on the list.

The creative genius of Steve Jobs

CNBC wrote of Jobs: “As Bill Gates shaped the experience of using the personal computer that sat on our desks, so Steve Jobs fashioned the experience of using the one we now carry around. Gates redefined the way millions of people work. Jobs redefined the style in which they live and set a new expectation about the embedding of technology in daily life.

“His creative genius revolutionised not just his industry and its products, but also everything from music and movies to smartphones. He provided a platform for others to create and distribute apps, bringing innovation and change to an even wider sphere.

“Apple’s co-founder tops our anniversary list of the 25 most transformative leaders, icons and rebels of the past quarter century. More than any other member of our group of extraordinary entrepreneurs and executives – all outstanding leaders – his vision spurred changes far beyond his industry and put an indelible stamp on the wider culture.”

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com