What are brown suede, have two bulky straps, show obvious signs of wear and just sold for $218,000?
If you answered, 'Birkenstocks owned by Apple founder Steve Jobs,' you're right.
Jobs’ Birkenstocks, which he wore in the 70s and 80s, were auctioned off to an undisclosed buyer on Sunday, Julien’s auction house shared.
The sale was the most ever paid for a pair of sandals at auction, and Julien’s said they came with a lot of tech history.
“Steve Jobs wore these sandals during many pivotal moments in Apple’s history,” the auction house said in the online listing. “In 1976, he hatched the beginnings of Apple computer in a Los Altos garage with Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak while occasionally wearing these sandals.”
The final selling price for the shoes was $218,750, but they were initially valued at $60,000. For reference, a new pair of the same shoe sells for $125.
Jobs is most known for founding the now tech giant Apple Computer in 1976 with Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. While he was well-known for his impact on the tech industry, he was also a well-noted environmentalist who often donned a pair of Birkenstocks.
During a 2018 interview in Vogue Germany, the mother of his first child, Chrisann Brennan, said that he wore them constantly, even in winter.
“The sandals were part of his simple side. They were his uniform. The great thing about a uniform is that you don’t have to worry about what to wear in the morning,” Brennan told the magazine. “That’s why Birkenstock sandals were so important to him.”
In 2011, Jobs passed away after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. After his death, the estate manager of his Albany, California home, Mark Sheff, collected multiple pairs of his shoes, which he shared with Insider.
Some, were donated to Goodwill, and others are in exhibits across the globe, even in Birkenstocks’ Germany headquarters.
Now, the pair is in one lucky buyer’s home after 19 different bids for the shoes.
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