Steve Jobs: 'Most valuable CEO'

Barron's estimates a healthy Jobs accounts for $25 billion of Apple's market value

Click to enlarge. Source: Barron's

Apple's (AAPL) Steve Jobs has once again made Barron's list of the 30 "most respected CEOs" in the world -- this time with a few more superlatives and a dollar figure attached.

To quote Andrew Bary's introduction (subscription required):

Probably the world's most valuable CEO is Steve Jobs of Apple, as shown by stock dips on news of his medical problems. Apple recently hit a record, with a market value topping $200 billion, a reflection of the Street's confidence that a healthy Jobs (at least from what we can tell) continues to keep Apple ahead of the game. Jobs likely accounts for $25 billion or more of Apple's market value.

The write-up inside, by Tech Trader Daily's Eric Savitz, is even more flattering (see inset). "While not universally loved," it concludes, "he's a one-of-a-kind black-turtleneck-wearing management genius. American could use 1,000 more like him."

[Follow Philip Elmer-DeWitt on Twitter @philiped]