• Joe Biden will award Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 individuals, including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and Senator John McCain.
•  Award is regarded as the nation’s highest civilian honour for Americans who have made outstanding contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States.
• The awards ceremony will be held on July 7 at the White House.

Joe Biden will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 17 individuals, including Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Senator John McCain, and Olympic athletes Megan Rapinoe and Simone Biles.

Read More: Gary Payton partnered up with Hennessy & NBA for Uncomplete Business project

The award is regarded as the nation’s highest civilian honour for Americans who have made “outstanding contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, to international peace, or to other significant societal, public, or private undertakings.”

Jobs and McCain will get the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously.

The former Apple CEO, who passed away in 2011, was instrumental in the development of the iMac, iPhone, and iPad, paving the way for Apple to become the largest company in the world.

Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, and his then-wife Melinda Gates received the same prize in 2016 for their philanthropic activities.

Read More: SEC, state regulators are investigating crypto lender Celsius over account freezes

On the list of prize honorees for 2022 are the civil rights activist Diane Nash, the former congressman and advocate for gun violence prevention Gabrielle Giffords, and the actor Denzel Washington.

The White House stated in a statement released on Friday, “These seventeen Americans represent the power of possibilities and symbolise the essence of the nation – hard work, tenacity, and faith.”

They have overcome enormous challenges to achieve outstanding achievements in the arts and sciences, devoted their lives to advocating for the most vulnerable among us, and acted courageously to drive change in their communities — and around the globe — while blazing paths for future generations.