The most significant meeting in a Silicon Valley garage since Hewlett went into Packard’s thirty-two years earlier.
– Steve Wozniak –
Apple’s original 1976 founding contract, a three-page document, will go to auction with experts predicting $2-$4 million. The experts predicting it could sell for between $2 million and $4 million.
Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne signed the historic agreement. Christie’s in New York will offer this iconic document on January 23, 2026. It will feature in the special “We the People: America at 250” sale.
Although the document launched what became the world’s most valuable company, its legal life was brief. The partnership dissolved within months. The company reincorporated as Apple Computer, Inc. Wayne left just twelve days after signing. He sold his 10% stake back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800. A few months later, he accepted $1,500 more to release future claims. That same 10% would later be worth tens of billions. Years later, Wayne sold his personal contract copy for only $500. He later called that sale one of his few regrets.
This particular copy going under the hammer is one of the very few that still exist in private hands. Apple-related memorabilia has proven extremely valuable in recent years: in 2023, a still-sealed original 2007 iPhone fetched $190,000 at auction, roughly 300 times its launch price.
For context, $2–4 million would buy roughly 1,300 to 2,600 of the current top-of-the-line 13-inch iPad Pro with cellular and 2 TB storage – give or take a few, depending on the final hammer price.
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