Steve Jobs' Biography: Top Five Secrets it Could Reveal

Jobs' estimated net worth was $7 billion, including his seven per cent stake in Walt Disney Co., acquired from selling Pixar. Unlike his contemporaries, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, Jobs' lack of efforts in philanthropy were met with criticism, even though the Apple mastermind preferred to keep details and the future of his fortune, private. Speculation has been rife since his death that at least a portion of his vast fortune may go to cancer research or hospitals.

However, Google's Chairman, Eric Schmidt, has hinted that Jobs had laid detailed plans for his fortune, which could possibly be revealed in his upcoming biography.

"This is a man whose impact is equal to any global leader," Schmidt told the New York Times. "He very much wanted to live and have a third act" beyond Apple's success.

As for whether that impact may grow through the wealth he leaves behind, Schmidt said, "it is not for me to characterize what will happen with Jobs' fortune." "All of that will unfold," he added. "I will say that he was a very thoughtful person, and he cared a lot about the world."

Failures and Unflattering Details

This is a man who made things work, but there would have been instances when things didn't quite work for him.

"He put nothing off limits," the description of the biography says. "He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly even foes, former girlfriends, and colleagues he had once fired or infuriated."

Jobs often got things done in ways that infuriated people around him. "His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted."

"He was not a model boss or human being, tidily packaged for emulation. Driven by demons, he could drive those around him to fury and despair."