DURING his life Steve Jobs was often rebuked for not giving enough to charity.

But it has been revealed that, along with his wife, the late Apple boss gave away millions without going public about it.

Jobs was so shy about his charitable giving he didn’t even discuss it with his biographer.

But Laurene Powell Jobs, the Apple founder’s widow, has spoken for the first time about the couple’s charity in an interview with The New York Times.

"We're really careful about amplifying the great work of others in every way that we can, and we don't like attaching our names to things," said Mrs Powell Jobs.

Jobs reportedly donated $US50 million ($52 million) of his own money to hospitals in California. According to his successor, Tim Cook, the cash went towards building a children's medical center and a new main building.

It was also revealed that Jobs gave generously to the fight against AIDS.

Jobs kept quiet about his charitable giving even when he found himself under attack for his apparent lack of philanthropy.

In 2011, a New York Times article claimed that there was no public record of the Apple founder giving money to charity.

While Jobs said nothing U2 lead singer Bono, a friends of Jobs, came to his defense, writing in an op-ed piece that Apple’s funding of HIV research had been "invaluable".