A landmark piece of Silicon Valley history is preparing to take the spotlight at Christie’s New York, where the original 1976 Apple Computer Company partnership contract — signed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne — will go under the hammer with an estimate between $2 million and $4 million USD.
Often described as Apple’s “birth certificate,” the three-page document marked the official beginning of the company that would later become a $4 trillion tech giant. Signed on April 1, 1976, the agreement set the stakes that shaped the brand’s earliest days: 45% for Jobs, 45% for Wozniak, and 10% for Ron Wayne, who personally typed the contract on his IBM typewriter.
A Famous Exit Worth Hundreds of Billions Today
Included in the lot are Ron Wayne’s withdrawal papers — the same documents that capture one of the most famous “what-if” stories in tech history. Just 12 days after signing, Wayne sold his 10% share for $2,300 USD total, stepping away from Apple before the company began its extraordinary rise.
Had he kept his stake, it would be worth hundreds of billions of dollars today.
A Star Lot in Christie’s ‘We the People: America at 250’ Sale
The contract will headline Christie’s January 23, 2026 auction, appearing alongside pieces that shaped American history, including a rare draft of the U.S. Constitution — an indication of how deeply tech memorabilia has entered the world of blue-chip collecting.
This isn’t the first time Apple’s founding documents have reached the market. A comparable set sold at Sotheby’s in 2011 for approximately $1.6 million USD, signaling how the appetite for Apple artifacts has only grown. With vintage iPhones, Steve Jobs’ personal items, and even his business cards selling for record numbers, this contract stands as a physical symbol of the moment Apple began — a true origin story in document form.
