# Did Chrisann Brennan the mother of Steve Jobs' child Lisa ever get any kind of settlement from him? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 9, 2015, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002 "2015-10-09T05:57:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/1 "2015-10-09T05:57:29Z")
[Her Wiki is here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrisann_Brennan)and assuming it’s true Steve Jobs comes off as just an incredibly huge bag of shit. In reading the wiki I don’t see anything about any kind of a settlement with her just him finally, grudgingly paying her some very minor child support after tussling with him at length and some tuition assistance in later years. Did she ever get more than this? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/2 "2015-10-09T06:55:56Z")
The tone of the Wiki article suggests that she wasn’t looking for much (or any?) more, in financial terms. Apart from child support, she doesn’t seem to have sought any money other than her tuition fees when she went back to art college, which he was “quite happy” to agree to. The article also quotes Jobs as saying (at a much earlier point) that “she doesn’t want money; she just wants me.” While Jobs is obvious not a disinterested witness, that’s consistent that she wasn’t really interested in a financial settlement; what mattered was an emotional commitment from Jobs, which he never gave to her but he did, in time, give to his daughter. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/3 "2015-10-09T11:26:44Z")
What exactly did she deserve besides child’s support? Jobs certainly had a obligation to provide for his children, but not one to provide for his ex. Too many ex wives fail to grasp this. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/4 "2015-10-09T13:11:20Z")
“The past is a foreign country - they do things differently there…” Many women back then (quite a few today) were lucky to get child support even if the father could easily afford it. However, until a few years ago alimony after marriage was a common thing, although it was unheard of for any non-married couples to expect support. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/5 "2015-10-09T14:20:43Z")
Echoing obbn, can you explain what she deserved and why SJ was a shitbag for not providing it? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/6 "2015-10-09T14:45:46Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > Echoing obbn, can you explain what she deserved and why SJ was a shitbag for not providing it? He let the mother of his child live in poverty while he was incredibly rich. He didn’t have to heap millions on her, he may not have had any legal obligation to give her anything at all, but he was obviously acting like a shitbag. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/7 "2015-10-09T17:50:46Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > He let the mother of his child live in poverty while he was incredibly rich. He didn’t have to heap millions on her, he may not have had any legal obligation to give her anything at all, but he was obviously acting like a shitbag. In the case of Steve Jobs, it wasn’t an act. 😃 His brilliance, and weakness, was his complete self-absorption. As far as I can see from assorted biographical testimony, other people interested him only as parts in the universe he was orchestrating. “Empathy” seems to have been only an abstract concept to him, by all accounts. Certainly, he didn’t seem to care much about convention, or what other people thought of him. His own opinion of himself was more important. That’s probably overstating it. But let’s just say he wasn’t a “people person.” ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/8 "2015-10-09T18:01:00Z")
I can’t imagine having a child and not sharing a significant amount of my income with them. Court mandated or not. Most of my money goes to my son’s school, his food, a car to drive him around, and a house for him to live in. Even if I didn’t have custody, I would make sure he had a decent house to live in, reliable transportation, sufficient food and a good education. Yeah, if I don’t have custody, that might mean an ex I despise also has a decent house and car and food paid for by me. But that’s a petty complaint, and shouldn’t stop you from providing for your child. ---
**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/9 "2015-10-09T19:06:24Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I can’t imagine having a child and not sharing a significant amount of my income with them. Court mandated or not. Most of my money goes to my son’s school, his food, a car to drive him around, and a house for him to live in. Even if I didn’t have custody, I would make sure he had a decent house to live in, reliable transportation, sufficient food and a good education. Yeah, if I don’t have custody, that might mean an ex I despise also has a decent house and car and food paid for by me. But that’s a petty complaint, and shouldn’t stop you from providing for your child. Ok, but all this comes from feelings that you just naturally have. As you say, you can’t imagine that someone would feel differently. But some people do feel differently and he was obviously one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/10 "2015-10-09T19:27:52Z")
As far as I know, Jobs never donated any money to any charitable cause. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/11 "2015-10-09T20:27:48Z")
Well, she did get a Lisa… ---
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/12 "2015-10-09T20:30:49Z")
Acc to this Daily Mail article, Jobs donated $50,000,000 to Stanford hospitals. It’s also implied that he has funded AIDS and HIV research (something U2’s Bono has also implied). > **[How Steve Jobs and his wife secretly gave away TEN OF MILLIONS of their own...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2330727/How-Steve-Jobs-wife-secretly-gave-away-TEN-OF-MILLIONS-money-charity--critics-accused-doing-enough.html)** > > Steve Jobs never addressed his philanthropic endeavors and refused to discuss the subject even with his biographer, Walter Isaacson. But now, his widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, has publicly spoken out about her charitable work through her foundation,... ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/13 "2015-10-09T21:08:12Z")
Since my OP I found these two articles that give more context and depth to the relationship. While I get being upset by a baby you did not want his behavior was petty and vile. He was a creative genius but it sounds like he was a pretty piss poor at being a decent human being. The amount she was asking for would have been a cup of pennies to him. [Smashed plates, ‘a\*\*hole’ scrawled on the walls and endless lies: Steve Jobs’ roommate reveals the truth behind the Apple titan’s explosive love affair with the mother of his daughter that he refused to accept](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2473284/Steve-Jobs-roommate-Daniel-Kottke-tells-truth-Chrisann-Brennan-relationship.html) [When Steve Jobs’ ex-girlfriend asked him to pay $25 million for his "dishonorable behavior](http://fortune.com/2015/08/06/steve-jobs-apple-girlfriend/) ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/14 "2015-10-09T23:18:53Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > What exactly did she deserve besides child’s support? Jobs certainly had a obligation to provide for his children, but not one to provide for his ex. Too many ex wives fail to grasp this. Oh, they grasp (no pun intended) it…it’s the judges in the family court that choose to disregard it. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/15 "2015-10-09T23:23:40Z")
> [@Ornery\_Bob](#): > > Ok, but all this comes from feelings that you just naturally have. As you say, you can’t imagine that someone would feel differently. But some people do feel differently and he was obviously one of them. Definitely; as many have noted in other threads, creating a child does not make one bond with same. It can be a total accident. Irrespective of one’s views on abortion, one can put it into the same category as Jobs’ behavior. A fetus was created, no need/love/bonding by one of the chemical donors, severance of relationship. Jobs’ gf chose to take the fetus to a longer term than Jobs was interested in. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/16 "2015-10-10T05:46:36Z")
Steve Jobs apparently spent several years after his daughter was born denying she was his, alleging his girlfriend must have cheated on him, etc. Incredibly self-centered and childish reaction, but typical of a certain mindset… that maybe if he repeated loudly and often it would become true. Obviously along with this he paid nothing if he could get away with it. Does he owe the mother anything? Technically, no. A person is entitled to act like a dick. Technically, he was obligated to pay child support if/when ordered by the court. Morally - well, the way I understand child support works nowadays for Ontario and most of Canada is this (simplified): take the sum of the two parents’ income. Calculate the proportion that would be used to support a typical child with that level of income. Each parent pays the proportion of that amount from their income - so the non-custodial parent deducts the custodial parent’s share from the total and pays the difference. There’s a table for normal incomes, but when you get into the millionaire stratosphere, there’s a formula. The theory is that the child then gets to enjoy something close to the lifestyle they’d enjoy if the parents were together and living the appropriate lifestyle, even if (mama) is nowhere near that rich. It pays for the size of house, the car, private school tuition, vacations, etc. If the poor mother also gets that benefit, well then sucks to be a millionaire daddy with plenty of cash still left over. So had that system been applicable in 1970’s and 1980’s in California. Jobs would be paying a shitload more than $385 a month. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/17 "2015-10-10T06:11:33Z")
I wonder if he provided for Lisa in his will? hopefully a bit more than $385 a month. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/18 "2015-10-10T06:54:37Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I wonder if he provided for Lisa in his will? hopefully a bit more than $385 a month. Considering he eventually reconciled himself to the truth and accepted her, I assume she got her fair share of the billions. He had a wife and three other kids when he died so I assume it got split. But Lisa lives in a Greenwich Village apartment, meaning she’s not that poor. > [@](#): > > In his estate, Jobs left their daughter a multi-million-dollar inheritance, which Lisa has used to help support her, according to Brennan. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2015, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/19 "2015-10-10T09:20:24Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > He let the mother of his child live in poverty while he was incredibly rich. He didn’t have to heap millions on her, he may not have had any legal obligation to give her anything at all, but he was obviously acting like a shitbag. And according to people who have worked there, the company is now full of people who equate creative genius=shitbag. And they’ve got the shitbag part of it down, even if they haven’t nailed the “creative genius” side of his character. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2015, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-chrisann-brennan-the-mother-of-steve-jobs-child-lisa-ever-get-any-kind-of-settlement-from-him/734002/20 "2015-10-11T03:24:14Z")
Millions of parents abandon their children. My biological father abandoned me before I was born and made some efforts after I reached out to him when I was a teenager. I let the idea of a relationship go when I was around 22 and haven’t contacted him since. It sucked, but I don’t know if I would hold someone to different standards due to wealth. My mom never got paid. She worked to pay the bills instead of doing new-agey stuff.