Winning bidder excedes Sotheby's expectations tenfold

Dec 14, 2011 13:05 GMT  ·  By

The documents that attest the founding of Apple Computer in 1976 headed for auction last month have been sold for almost  $1.6 Million. Sotheby's had estimated that the papers would fetch no less than $150,000.

According to Sotheby's web site, the multi-page document sold for $1,594,500, of which 12% went to the auction house. The set included the original three-page contract signed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ron Wayne, as well as other papers.

As expected, the winning bidder’s identity is not made public. Before reaching the Sotheby's auction, the papers had been in the possession of a certain Wade Saadi, who had bought the documents from Ron Wayne in 1994. Saadi had paid "several thousand dollars" for them.