The original signed Apple founding contract that got the Apple Computer Company off the ground is likely to sell for a lot of money. The auction will feature a piece of tech history.
The document will be sold at Christie’s in January 2026. This is the same agreement that Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne signed in 1976 to work together.
The story behind the landmark Apple founding contract
The three-page Apple founding contract set up the original owners of the company. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak each owned 45% of the company, and Ron Wayne owned 10%. Wayne also wrote the agreement himself on his IBM typewriter.
This historic Apple founding contract lot has a sad addition: the paperwork showing Wayne’s withdrawal just 12 days later. He sold his whole 10% stake for an initial $800 and then got $1,500 later. Wayne has since said that the risky new business was not for him because it was like a “roller coaster.”
The upcoming sale at Christie’s shows how valuable tech memorabilia can be. The sale of this Apple founding contract is not unprecedented. In 2011, the documents sold for almost $1.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction, which was much more than the pre-sale estimate. Wayne sold his physical copy of the contract for only $500 in the early 1990s.
Christie thinks this Apple founding contract is worth between $2 million and $4 million. On January 23, 2026, the auction will take place.
The story of the Apple founding contract makes for an interesting “what if” situation. If Wayne had kept his 10% stake, it would be worth a lot more than it is now. This famous document is still a real link to the humble beginnings of a tech empire.
