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October 23, 2011 6:45 PM

Steve Jobs: Family photo album

By
Overtime Staff
Topics
Overtime Original

College student Reed Jobs decided to study oncology after seeing his father, Apple CEO Steve Jobs, battle cancer. Reed's younger sister Eve is a great horseback rider, and their sister Erin has her father's great sense for design. And the eldest, Lisa, who was estranged from her father when she was young, became very close with him in recent years.

These are some of the insights that Jobs' biographer Walter Isaacson shared with 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft as the two browsed through some Jobs family photos - on an iPad, of course.

The photos show a side of Jobs that few knew - the family man on vacation, at home, on his wedding day to Laurene Powell, with his father when Jobs was a baby.

"60 Minutes" coverage: Steve Jobs
Complete coverage: Steve Jobs 1955 - 2011

On Overtime this week, we take a look at these Jobs family photos. Steve Kroft tells producer David Rubin about seeing these images and hearing the family stories: "I didn't know anything about the way he lived. And it speaks to the secrecy and the mysterious nature of this persona that Jobs managed to create -- the secrecy both about his business operations and especially the secrecy about his family life, private life."

In his private life, Jobs was a married man with four children. In 1991, he married, Laurene, then an investment banker. Isaacson says Jobs talked to him about meeting and marrying Laurene: "They went out off and on for a year. As usual, any relationship with Jobs can be somewhat tumultuous. But he said to me, 'It was tough, but you eventually realize you've met the person, you know, who you're right to live with.' "

Laurene and Steve had three children: Reed, Eve, and Erin. Jobs' eldest child, Lisa, was born in 1978 to Jobs and then-girlfriend Chrisann Brennan. For many years Jobs refused to acknowledge Lisa as his child, but by the time she was in high school, Lisa was living with Steve and Laurene.

As Jobs got sicker, his children wanted time with Isaacson to speak about their father. Isaacson recalls talking with Jobs' son: "Reed just adores his father. When I was first working on the book, he came to see me and said, 'Let's take a walk.' Very much like his father would have done. And he says, 'I know you're gonna hear a lot of stories of my dad being tough and brutal to people. But I want you to know that he really cares about the products and he wasn't just out to make money or to be a great businessman.' "

Also on 60 Minutes Overtime this week - listen to Steve Jobs' opinion on high-tech rivals Bill Gates, Larry Page, and Mark Zuckerberg.

And click here to see Steve Kroft's two-part 60 Minutes piece "Steve Jobs," produced by Graham Messick:

Watch Part 1 of "Steve Jobs"

Watch Part 2 of "Steve Jobs"

Disclosure: Walter Isaacson's biography "Steve Jobs" is published by Simon & Schuster, a division of CBS corporation.


Add a Comment See all 12 Comments
by barbara_renee October 24, 2011 2:24 PM EDT
RE Steve's "brutal" management style, " crude, rude etc... " What (most) people fail to realize is very simple: it is just as hard to reveal a non-white washed truth to someone else as it is for that person accepting or understanding that truth or their imperfections. How many people actually realize that only a true friend will tell you your own failings. Only a person who uniquely cares about something will be brutally truthful about it. Steve knows he is not perfect, he knew he was not kind, but he took that stand because he believed in what he was doing and was attempting to "raise the high water mark" for all of those he worked with and encountered. You can't fault someone for that. Raising the water level, does not happen when everyone tells each other it's all fine just the way it is... We know we can all do nothing and it will be "good enough"... The difference that sets people apart are making changes, you can't make change when you can't see something greater, basically when your below or under water, that is always more difficult. Bringing others above the water is what life savers do. It's our responsibility as humans and brothers and sisters to bring up the water mark. Only those who can't see further than their nose feel insulted or violated by such efforts by others. -BBC
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by bogsed October 24, 2011 11:04 AM EDT
I appreciated the informational interview with Mr. Job's biographer, Walter Isaacson and Steve Kroft. But I did resent Mr. Kroft saying that for such a brilliant man Steve Jobs made a "stupid" decision regarding his choice to not immediatly have the surgery for his cancer. The man had a right, as any one of us does and wants, to have control over his body and health and welfare, and to explore other options. I'm quite sure Mr. Jobs was smart enough to have researched and weighed the possible outcomes and consequences of each option and maybe for him just the longest life wasn't as attractive an option as the quality of life and following his own path. Modern medecine, while spectacularly wonderful, is not perfect. We, and Mr. Jobs, all know this. I believe he had a right to his privacy and to live his life as he saw fit. None of us know what went into his medical decisions, and all of ours are rich with many inputs and concerns. Surely he made informed choices that he believed right for him and his family. It is sometimes all too easy to second guess someone who is no longer here to defend himself, especially public figures.
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by lindy512 October 24, 2011 9:47 AM EDT
His Mother? Surely she was a special person. It takes a lot of work to raise a child. Why isn't there more about her?
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by proeliumfessus October 24, 2011 12:38 AM EDT
Seriuosly- enough with all the Jobs coverage.
Reply to this comment
by Annedelf October 30, 2011 10:53 PM EDT
Many would not agree with you; seriously.
by Chichuna October 24, 2011 12:20 AM EDT
To the Jobs family, be strong, its very hard to realize that someone you love has gone,Steve was a force of nature, and the world is better off for his being here. You have each other, I wish you all long and happy lives.
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by Dr_Keenan October 23, 2011 11:18 PM EDT
This was for the most part a well done segment.

HOWEVER ... the reporters kept saying, over and over and over again, that Steve Jobs was "abandoned" by his birth mother. This is absolutely false - she chose the adoptive couple and they raised him in a very loving home.

Your false reporting supports the negative stigma and media bias towards adoption, never emphasizing it's strengths and loving outcomes. It's continues to victimize adoptees, birthparents and adoptive families everywhere.

Noreen Keenan, Ph.D.
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by lorjon1 October 24, 2011 12:43 AM EDT
Re the term "abandonment" -- it is only natural that adopted children may suffer from feelings of abandonment due to the innate biological connection between birth mother and child. No one is implying here that Steve Jobs was not loved and indeed raised in a very loving home, thankfully. More so, his adoptive parents had a sensitive response to his natural query about being put up for adoption in saying to him that he was "chosen". There is no "false reporting" here. In fact, it represents the reality of the situation. Putting your own child up for adoption cannot but inspire feelings of abandonment in the child as well as feelings of loss in the birth parent which can last a lifetime. And whatever you wish to say, his mother may have chosen the adoptive couple and luckily they turned out to be good parents (in this case) but she also made the choice to give her son up which only she can be accountable for. Steve Jobs luckily did not see himself as a victim.
by jimhass October 25, 2011 1:51 AM EDT
He felt abandoned. That is the fear of every adoptive child. "Your real mother didn't love you!" That's what you fear to hear from other children. The Jobses knew how to handle a crying little boy, to tell him he was "chosen." That was a very formative moment. Of course abandonment in itself is an emotional reality when a parent doesn't respond to you in the ways you need. It's very lucky for Steve that his adoptive parents gave him love.

The real truth about the adoption is that the mother insisted to give him to university grads. At the last moment, the university grads backed out. The high school grads wanted him, and had to convince the mother that they'd send the kid to college before she grudgingly accepted them
by littleredtop October 23, 2011 8:48 PM EDT
Who cares about this guy's photo album?
Reply to this comment
by bommai October 24, 2011 1:55 AM EDT
I do!!
by Annedelf October 30, 2011 10:51 PM EDT
I very much enjoyed it. If you don't care, why bother to comment. Sometimes it's just best to be a little respectful, particularly when someone has died and have a grieving family. Perhaps you know what I am talking about; if not, you will.
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