Steve Jobs Health is a Private Matter.

Michael Gartenberg | July 24, 2008, 08:41 AM

I've been getting a ton of press calls on this and spent some time last night talking about it on CNBC so i'll make a few comments here as well and I never plan to address this issue again.

When it comes to Apple, the smallest, most minute details of the company are subject to the most intense scrutiny, which would almost be funny, if it didn't have an effect on their stock price. The bottom line is that Steve Jobs health is none of anyone's business. If Steve's health were to become something that would prevent him from running Apple as CEO, presumably we would know. Why? Well, it already happened once before a few years ago when Steve became ill. It was disclosed, the leadership team was put in place and Apple ran just fine.

The reality is Apple is much more than Steve, even though we so closely associate him with the firm. Yes, it would appear from a keynote that Steve conceived of, designed and perhaps spends time building iPhones in his garage. The reality is there's more than 20,000 other folks at Apple and while most Apple customers don't know the names of folks like Schiller, Joswiak, Cook or Ives there's an army of folks behind Steve who deliver day after day and year after year. We know they can run Apple well. Why? They've done it before when Steve was ill and took a leave of absence.

Yes, Steve Jobs is a core part of Apple but no doubt, there's a succession plan in place and merely because Apple has not articulated it to the public does not mean it doesn't exist. I imagine at some point in the distant future, there might be an Apple without Steve. I will certainly miss his presence but I'm also confident that Apple can thrive as well. And as you've heard me quote my grandfather in the past.  "the cemeteries are full of people who couldn't be replaced"

Steve is entitled to his privacy. I asked Maria Bartiromo last night if she could think of any other CEO that was put to this level of scrutiny. She said no one, except perhaps Jack Welsch and not to this level. We don't look at Steve Ballmer and ask if he's gained a few pounds or see if Michael Dell has a headache or if Eric Schmidt has the sniffles. Steve Jobs health is no one's business except his. That's my last word on this topic.