Many people are unaware that in addition to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple has a third co-founder: Ronald Wayne. The latter created the very first Apple logo, wrote documentation, and took care of certain administrative tasks. But Wayne only worked with Apple’s two other co-founders for 12 days. And in addition to having prematurely left this adventure, he also sold the 10% of shares he held, for 800 dollars.
Ronald Wayne co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs. He sold his 10% stake for $800 in 1976. pic.twitter.com/y9WBvYNFZ2
— know (@Know) April 19, 2015
Since then, the Cupertino company has become one of the most valuable companies in the world, with a market capitalization of more than $3,000 billion. And a 10% stake in Apple is now worth more than $300 billion. It should be noted that, even if Ronald Wayne had retained his shares in the company, he would probably no longer be a 10% shareholder, since investors arrived and Apple then went public. But today, even 1% of Apple is worth more than $30 billion.
A decision he does not regret
In a video published by Business Insider in 2017, Ronald Wayne explains that in 1976, Steve Jobs managed to sell 50 to 100 computers to The Byte Shop, a reseller. He then borrowed $15,000 to buy the equipment needed to assemble these computers. However, according to Wayne, The Byte Shop had a reputation for being a bad payer. And he realized that if Apple didn’t get paid for his computers, he might have to repay the loan with his money. Indeed, Ronald Wayne was in his forties and already had a good situation. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, for their part, were in their twenties and would not have had the means to repay the loan.
In the video, Ronald Wayne nevertheless indicates that this was not the main reason for his departure. He also realized that he would not be fulfilled within Apple, that he would never have his own project and that he would spend the next 20 years in documentation and paperwork. In any case, Ronald Wayne says in this video that he does not regret leaving the company he co-founded.
- In addition to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple has a third co-founder: Ronald Wayne
- But he left the company after 12 days and sold his 10% stake for $800
- Today, 10% of shares in Apple are worth $300 billion
- But he says he doesn’t regret this decision.
