Founding Apple Papers Sell for $1.6M

A modest business contract signed about 35 years ago sold for a staggering $1.6 million at Sotheby's today, more than 10 times the highest estimate. It is, of course, the deal signed by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, and a poor soul named Ronald Wayne that founded Apple, reports Bloomberg. As for Wayne? He thought the company's prospects were too shaky and relinquished his stake less than two weeks later for total compensation of $2,300.

Wayne accomplished the main task Jobs requested of him, however: He convinced Wozniak to leave H-P and join their little venture. The buyer of the contract is Eduardo Cisneros, chief executive of Cisneros Corp., notes the BBC. Lucky seller Wade Saadi bought the documents for "several thousand dollars" in 1994 from, you guessed it, the same Ronald Wayne. (More Apple stories.)