Gary E. Jacobs

Jacobs was born to a Jewish family, the son of Joan (née Klein) and Irwin M. Jacobs. His father was a co-founder of Linkabit and Qualcomm. He has three brothers: Jeffrey A. Jacobs (born 1966), Paul E. Jacobs (born 1962), and Hal Jacobs (born 1960).[1] In 1979, Jacobs earned a B.A. in Management Science from the University of California, San Diego.[2] After college, he worked for his father's companies, first Linkabit and then Qualcomm starting as a programmer, then as a software engineer, and in 1996, as a senior educational specialist working with schools to improve their math and science studies.[3] He left Qualcomm in 2000 to focus on philanthropy.[3]

Jacobs is the majority owner of the Class Advanced A, San Diego Padres affiliate, the Lake Elsinore Storm.[2]

Jacobs served as president of the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County and served on the board of directors of Congregation Beth El in La Jolla.[3] He is the founder of the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs International Teen Leadership Institute.[3] In 1999, he and his wife founded the Gary and Jerri-Ann Jacobs High Tech High Charter School.[3]

In 1983, he married Jerri-Ann Jacobs who is also Jewish; they have four children – Adam, Sara, Beth and Dylan.[3] They currently reside in Del Mar, San Diego, California.