In 1986 after being ousted by the Apple board, Steve Jobs was looking for something to invest in and wound up buying George Lucas's fledgling graphics division, The Graphics Group, for $10 million. At first the company struggled to find a niche for itself but eventually Jobs signed a production and distribution deal with Disney to produce animated films. At the same time The Graphics Group changed its name to Pixar. Pixar's first effort was
Toy Story, a monster hit in 1995. In the years since Pixar has gone on to produce a slew of other blockbuster hits including
Toy Story 2 and 3,
Finding Nemo and
Wall-E.
In 2006 Disney purchased Pixar outright in a deal that made Jobs a billionaire. He became the single largest stock holder in Disney, owning nearly 7% of all shares. Up until his death today at the age of 56 he continued to sit on the board of Disney and was part of a steering committee that oversaw Pixar projects.
Whether you are a fan of Pixar's brand of animation or not, no one can deny Jobs turned the studio into a Hollywood powerhouse that produced a string of animated films that have become manna to an entire generation of kids around the world.
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| Steve Jobs addresses the troops at Pixar |
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