Vision has a price after all; for Steve Jobs, it’s $20 billion

Steve Jobs doesn’t work for salary. But he certainly isn’t out for charity and the advancement of modern technology, either. If you had to put a price tag on what Steve Jobs does for Apple, though, what would that be?

Jeff Segal from Breaking Views seems to think he has that number dialed in. If you weren’t aware, Apple has pulled out from the Macworld Expo, one of the largest annual Apple events at which Apple generally let’s a cat or two out of the bag. Some, Segal included, think that fact is important.

It is potentially important because Apple’s captain, the visionary and at times vehement Steve Jobs, has had serious health problems for a while now; many think that the pullout from Macworld might have something to do with his ailing health.

And, like it or not, investors make the world go ’round. If they catch a whiff that Apple’s pullout of the Macworld Expo might be due to Steve Job’s failing health, they’re liable to start questioning their investments, mainly because Steve Jobs put Apple on the map, and then brought it back from a downward spiral.

So, down to the nitty gritty. According to Segal, Apple’s net worth is approximately $80 billion, where all the various product values for Apple, including Mac computers, iPods, iPhones and the like, come to a sum of around $60 billion. Where’s the mysterious surplus come from? A man of small stature dressed in black turtle neck, blue jeans, and white sneakers, apparently.

For whatever reason, pulling out of Macworld hasn’t made the good stockholders what you might call more comfortable. At this point, I would guess that even the greatest reassurances to the contrary regarding Jobs’ failing health will never be up to snuff.

$20 billion for a leader is still a large piece of the $80 billion pie. Apple’s pullout will need to be met with impressive plans if Apple wants to continue growing during this economic downturn.

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