November 22, 2024

Apple's Founding Contract Sells for $1.59 Million

Posted December 13, 2011 at 8:26pm by iClarified · 9279 views
Today, Sotheby's New York auctioned off Apple's founding contract signed on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. The contract was estimated to sell for $150,000 but soared past that price with a phone bidder acquiring the document for $1.59 million, according to Bloomberg.

The contract was initially owned by Wayne, who met Jobs while working at Atari Inc. Wozniak, a friend of Jobs, worked at Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) Jobs enlisted Wayne to persuade Wozniak to join Apple. His success in doing so earned Wayne a 10 percent share in the new company. Eleven days after signing the contract, Wayne withdrew as a partner. The move is documented by a County of Santa Clara, California, statement and an amendment to the contract, both of which were included in the Sotheby's lot. Wayne received $800 for relinquishing his 10 percent ownership of Apple, according to the document. He subsequently received an additional payment of $1,500, according to Sotheby's.

No word on who the phone bidder was...

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