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                          Steve Wozniak Is a Happy Guy

   Adam Engst

   After a [1]Slashdot post linking to a [2]CBS News profile of Apple
   co-founder Steve Wozniak triggered comments about how he sold his Apple
   stock, the now 75-year-old Woz popped up to explain his situation,
   [3]saying:

     I gave all my Apple wealth away because wealth and power are not
     what I live for. I have a lot of fun and happiness. I funded a lot
     of important museums and arts groups in San Jose, the city of my
     birth, and they named a street after me for being good. I now speak
     publicly and have risen to the top. I have no idea how much I have
     but after speaking for 20 years it might be $10M plus a couple of
     homes. I never look for any type of tax dodge. I earn money from my
     labor and pay something like 55% combined tax on it. I am the
     happiest person ever. Life to me was never about accomplishment, but
     about Happiness, which is Smiles minus Frowns. I developed these
     philosophies when I was 18-20 years old and I never sold out.

   We enjoyed hanging out with Woz a bit on the [4]MacMania Geek Cruise
   several decades ago, even though I apparently didn't mention him in
   '[5]Cruising with Mac Folk' (10 June 2002). I think of him every time I
   run across a $2 bill, since he gleefully explained to us how he enjoyed
   buying [6]uncut sheets of $2 bills from the Bureau of Engraving and
   Printing, having them professionally perforated and bound into pads,
   and then using them to tip waitstaff or confound cashiers. The prank
   even once got him [7]interviewed by the Secret Service, who he gave a
   fake Laser Safety Officer ID and lived to tell the tale.

References

   1. https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/08/10/1938248/its-steve-wozniaks-75th-birthday-whatever-happened-to-his-youtube-lawsuit
   2. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/steve-wozniak-on-fighting-internet-scams/
   3. https://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=23765914&cid=65583466
   4. https://tidbits.com/2001/12/13/2001-gift-ideas-for-the-macintosh-minded/#:~:text=the%20ultimate%20macintosh%20travel%20gift
   5. https://tidbits.com/2002/06/10/cruising-with-mac-folk/
   6. https://www.usmint.gov/bureau-of-engraving-and-printing/
   7. https://web.archive.org/web/20180311084811/http://archive.woz.org/letters/general/78.html

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