Steve Jobs, founder of technology company Apple, passed away in 2011 from pancreatic cancer.
Eight years on, his “last words” are still circulating on Facebook. In one post, Jobs is quoted as saying:
“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to. At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.”
Jobs supposedly goes on to stress the importance of appreciating life and family before “material things”.
Included in the post is a picture of Jobs captioned “Steve Jobs’ last words”.
US fact-checking website Snopes found the earliest version of this “deathbed speech” in a 2015 blogpost.
The speech has changed somewhat over the years, but the central message remains.
Snopes notes that the speech has not been published on any official websites, featuring only on social media accounts and low-traffic blogs. And it has not been confirmed by anyone in the Jobs family.
On the contrary, in a eulogy published in the New York Times and which can be viewed here, Jobs’ sister, Mona Simpson, remarked on her brother’s final words:
“Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times. Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them. Steve’s final words were: OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.” – Africa Check
Eight years on, his “last words” are still circulating on Facebook. In one post, Jobs is quoted as saying:
“I reached the pinnacle of success in the business world. In others’ eyes my life is an epitome of success. However, aside from work, I have little joy. In the end, wealth is only a fact of life that I am accustomed to. At this moment, lying on the sick bed and recalling my whole life, I realize that all the recognition and wealth that I took so much pride in, have paled and become meaningless in the face of impending death.”
Jobs supposedly goes on to stress the importance of appreciating life and family before “material things”.
Included in the post is a picture of Jobs captioned “Steve Jobs’ last words”.
‘Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow’
US fact-checking website Snopes found the earliest version of this “deathbed speech” in a 2015 blogpost.
The speech has changed somewhat over the years, but the central message remains.
Snopes notes that the speech has not been published on any official websites, featuring only on social media accounts and low-traffic blogs. And it has not been confirmed by anyone in the Jobs family.
On the contrary, in a eulogy published in the New York Times and which can be viewed here, Jobs’ sister, Mona Simpson, remarked on her brother’s final words:
“Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times. Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them. Steve’s final words were: OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.” – Africa Check
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