Apple co-founder Steve Jobs dead at 56

Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs shows the new MacBook Air during the Macworld Convention and Expo in San Francisco, California in this January 15, 2008 file photo. Photo by REUTERS/Robert Galbraith/Files

Apple Inc co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs, counted among the greatest American CEOs of his generation, died on Wednesday at the age of 56, after a years-long and highly public battle with cancer and other health issues.

Jobs’ death was announced by Apple in a statement late on Wednesday.

The Silicon Valley icon who gave the world the iPod and the iPhone resigned as CEO of the world’s largest technology corporation in August, handing the reins to current chief executive Tim Cook.

Jobs, who fought a rare form of pancreatic cancer, was deemed the heart and soul of a company that rivals Exxon Mobil as the most valuable in America.

Jobs was a Buddhist.

Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Gary Hill