He was the original angel investor, first chairman, and second CEO for Apple Computer, Inc., providing critical early funding and managerial support.
[5] Markkula made millions from stock options he earned as a marketing manager for Fairchild Semiconductor and Intel, reaching financial independence and early retirement at 33.
[2][8][9] He brought in his friend and former coworker Michael Scott as the first president and CEO, then replaced Scott with himself from 1981 to 1983 despite having originally promised his wife that he would only stay at Apple for four years,[6] and then later planning to retire again by 1984;[8] during the board meeting to confirm him as the CEO, Markkula received a phone call that his father-in-law and best friend had died.
[11][12] As chairman he approved Jef Raskin's 1979 plan to start designing what would become the Macintosh, then prevented Jobs from killing the project in favor of his own Lisa.
[6] In addition to providing what The New York Times later described as "adult supervision" to the younger Jobs and Wozniak, as a trained engineer Markkula also possessed technical skills.
In July 2023, he sold his 14,000-acre Rana Creek Ranch in Carmel Valley (Monterey County) to The Wildlands Conservancy for $35 million.