The contract that established Apple Computer Company sold at auction today for a whopping $1.59 million. Purchased via phone by an anonymous bidder, the contract was signed on April 1, 1976, by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.
Who was Wayne, you ask? He's one of the least economically lucky men alive, it seems, giving up his share of Apple for a total of $2,300 just eleven days after signing the contract.
Also noteworthy? Wayne is gay. According to Jobs, "It was my first encounter with someone who I knew was gay." As Wayne explained to Walter Isaacson, biographer of Jobs, "Nobody at Atari knew, and I could count on my toes and fingers the number of people I told in my whole life. But I guess it just felt right to tell him, that he would understand, and it didn't have any effect on our relationship." Aw.
How much could Wayne have in his pocket today if he held his ownership? "Based on Apple’s market capitalization today, Wayne’s 10 percent stake would be valued at more than $36 billion," notes Bloomberg.
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