Apple's founding document is about to go up for sale at the New York-based auction house Christie's in early 2026, with the three-page contract between Steve Jobs and the other two founding partners expected to net a cool 7-figure sum.
Christie's expects to sell Apple's founding partnership contract for between $2 million and $4 million
Founding contracts have a potent symbolic value, especially when they pertain to global behemoths such as Apple. And, because of the associated nostalgia and their significant emotional value, such contracts can grab an insane amount of money via public auctions.
Now, Christie's is preparing to auction off Apple's founding document, with additional details as follows:
- The auction is scheduled for January 23, 2026.
- The auction package includes the three-page, founding partnership agreement between Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne, as well as Wayne's withdrawal agreement, realized only days later.
- Christie's expects the auction package to net between $2 million and $4 million.
Of course, this is not the first time that a memento associated with Apple has gone on sale. Back in 2011, Apple's founding partnership agreement was auctioned by Sotheby's, with Eduardo Cisneros, the CEO of Cisneros Corp, managing to win the document for $1.59 million in the ensuing bidding. The sale price, however, included a 12 percent premium for the auction house. This means the document was actually valued at around $1.35 million at the time.
Do note that, as per the original partnership agreement, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak each had a 45 percent stake in Apple, with the residual 10 percent going to Ron Wayne. However, Wayne sold his stake just days later for $800. At today's price, Wayne's Apple stake would have been worth around $400 billion.
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