Apple's 'birth certificate' auctioned for up to $4 million

The contract that founded Apple in 1976. Photo: 9to5Mac .

The contract that gave birth to Apple (originally called Apple Computer Company) is about to be auctioned, with an expected sale price of 2-4 million USD . It is likely to become the most expensive Apple collectible ever sold.

Christie's, based in the UK, has not yet posted the document on its website. But according to Arirang News , the company will offer the original 1976 partnership contract as a single lot at its “We the People: America at 250” sale on January 23, 2026, in New York.

The three-page document, signed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ron Wayne, sets out Apple's initial ownership stakes at 45%, 45% and 10%. "This is a foundational document of financial, social and technological history," said Richard Austin, head of books and manuscripts at Sotheby's New York.

Despite its historical value, the deal was short-lived. When Apple Computer Company changed its name less than two weeks later, Wayne sold his 10% stake to the other two co-founders.

Wayne was famously quick to back down after realizing he was the only one of the three founders with any assets at the time, meaning he could be held responsible if the company failed. His 10% stake at the time, if retained, would be worth around $400 billion today.

However, in a 2016 interview with the BBC, he said he had no regrets about making that decision. A few months later, he was offered just $1,500 to sign away all of his remaining business interests in Apple. Additionally, Wayne ended up selling his own copy of the original contract for $500 , which he admitted he regretted.

A manuscript dealer who had bought the founding draft from Ron Wayne sold the documents to an auction house in the mid-1990s. “It was right before Jobs returned to Apple, and everyone thought the company was pretty much dead,” Austin said. In Walter Isaacson’s biography, Jobs is widely credited as the driving force behind Apple’s rise to become one of the world’s largest corporations.

The contract was previously sold in 2011 for $1.5 million . Rare Apple-related collectibles are often auctioned, but this one looks set to become the most expensive ever.

In 2023, a first-generation iPhone with the original tags still on was sold for $190,000 , about 300 times the original price. Or in 2021, an Apple II notebook signed by Steve Jobs fetched $787,000 at auction, and his business card sold for $13,000 .

Source: https://znews.vn/giay-khai-sinh-cua-apple-duoc-dau-gia-len-den-4-trieu-usd-post1606333.html