Original Apple founding contract signed by Steve Jobs heading to auction
- By Web Desk -
- Nov 27, 2025
The written agreement that officially established Apple Computer Company, as it was initially known in 1976, is reportedly being auctioned and is expected to fetch up to $4 million.
According to Apple Insider, the British auction house Christie’s, which has several international salerooms, including one in New York, will feature the three-page document in an auction in early 2026. It features the signatures of Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne, along with their respective stakes in the company that would go on to become one of the world’s biggest.
Ronald Wayne’s initial involvement with Apple Computer was short-lived, despite the historical significance of the agreement that established the company. Less than two weeks after its creation, Wayne sold his 10 percent share back to his co-founders, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, before Apple Computer Company became Apple Computer, Inc., less than a year later.
He was paid just $1,500 to sign away his remaining business interests in Apple several months after leaving. Although a 10 percent stake would have been worth approximately $60 billion at the time of a 2016 BBC interview (and significantly more now), Wayne insisted he did not regret his decision to leave.
However, the former Atari employee expressed regret to the BBC about selling his personal copy of the original Apple founding agreement for only $500, adding “salt in the wound” to his earlier financial decisions.
As reported by Apple Insider, the soon-to-be-auctioned Apple agreement is valued at between $2 million and $4 million, and it will feature in the “We the People: America at 250” auction in New York on January 23.
It won’t be the first time an essential piece of Apple history has been sold off. Back in 2023, an unopened first-generation iPhone fetched $190,000 at auction, which was around 300 times its original price.