Americans should celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit and success of someone like Apple chief Steve Jobs, provided he gives back and helps the next generation of wannabe tech titans achieve their own American dreams, President Obama said during a Wednesday news conference.

Obama made his remarks in response to a question about whether there is a divide between the middle class and wealthy Americans. The president said that the top 1 percent of people in this country have a larger share of income and wealth than any time since the 1920s, though he said those individuals often help create a thriving middle class.

"Something that's always been the greatest strength of America is a thriving, booming middle class, where everybody has got a shot at the American Dream. And that should be our goal," Obama said. "That should be what we're focused on. How are we creating opportunity for everybody? So that we celebrate wealth. We celebrate somebody like a Steve Jobs, who has created two or three different revolutionary products. We expect that person to be rich, and that's a good thing. We want that incentive. That's part of the free market."

The president, however, called on those "extraordinarily fortunate" Americans to contribute "to the larger American community so that a whole bunch of other kids coming up are doing well. And that means schools that work and infrastructure like roads and airports that function, and it means colleges and universities that teach and aren't restricted to just people who can afford it but are open to anybody with talent and a willingness to work."

"That's going to be I think part of the conversation that we've got to have over the next couple years," Obama said.

Jobs made PCMag's list of Top 10 Tech Figures of 2010; see who else made the cut.