Pull this sort of thing when you're an average executive or middle management, and you're an abrasive, demanding idiot. Pull it when you have a few billion in the bank, and you're a "visionary."
It's all about being right - a lot. When you're the man who introduced the world's most popular music player ever, followed by a complete revitalization of its flagging computer brand, and then invent a completely new product category that your competitors are breaking their necks trying to catch up to... your demands suddenly become more acceptable.