THE FBI has released its files on Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder and icon of the business world, painting a picture of a complex man who is described both as “a deceptive individual” and one of “high moral character and integrity”.
The documents, released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, were compiled by the FBI when Jobs was being considered for political office in the president’s export council under George Bush Snr’s administration.
Some of the titbits revealed in the 191 pages of documents include that he was a negligent father who would “twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals”, according to documents released by the FBI.
The FBI interviewed Jobs and at least 29 people who knew him as part of a background check. Their investigations took place in the 1990s, after Jobs had been fired from Apple and before his triumphant return to the company.
“Several individuals questioned Mr Jobs’ honesty stating that Mr Jobs will twist the truth and distort reality in order to achieve his goals. They also commented that, in the past, Mr Jobs was not supportive of [redacted] and their daughter; however, recently has become supportive,” according to the documents. Another source characterised Jobs as “a deceptive individual who is not completely forthright and honest”.
The files paint a picture of a complicated man, full of contradictions. One man interviewed by the FBI, who identifies himself as a former “good friend” of Jobs, said that while the Apple boss was “basically an honest and trustworthy person, he is a very complex individual and his moral character is suspect”. He said Jobs “alienated a large number of people at Apple as a result of his ambition”. But no witness seems to have questioned Jobs’s business abilities.
Two other witnesses said he was “strong-willed, stubborn, hard-working and driven....”.
Another said he believed the appointee has what it takes to assume a high level political position within the government, which in his opinion, honesty and integrity are not prerequisites to assume such a position.
Jobs travelled to India in the mid-1970s and became fascinated by Zen Buddhism, he practised meditation for the rest of his life. One FBI source said Jobs had undergone a change in philosophy by participating in eastern and/or Indian mysticism and religion. The source said this had appeared to influence Jobs’s life for the better.
The portrait tallies with that given in Steve Jobs, Water Isaacsons recent biography. Jobs had a reality distortion field, according to Isaacson, that allowed him to believe, and convince others, that whatever he said was true.
The FBI can make its records public after a persons death. Jobs died last October after a long battle with a rare form of cancer. – (Guardian service)