Apple Inc. had gone through a hard period in the early 90s and almost went bankrupt. When Steve Jobs returned to Apple as CEO in 1997 (he left the firm in 1985), he made a stunning promise to take only $1 dollar salary. Every year from 1997 to 2011, Steve Jobs made an annual salary of just $1. Since Jobs held lots of Apple stocks, if he couldn't make the company successfully again and he only took $1 salary, he.