Sold Stake for $800, Missed $400Bn: Why Apple Co-Founder Ronald Wayne Has No Regrets

Ronald Wayne, an American investor and technologist, having a net worth of $400,000, is also known as Apple’s lesser-known third co-founder.

In 1976, when Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak laid the foundation of Apple, Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800, just 12 days later, yet he has no regrets, according to reports.

Why Wayne Sold Apple

Wayne walked out because he was concerned about the financial risk associated with the new partnership, Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800 and later received an additional $1,500 to formally forfeit any future claim to the company.

Value Of Missed Fortune

Today, with Apple nearing a $4trn market valuation, that stake would theoretically be over $400bn.  That share would have been worth over $400bn today.

“My success has never been defined by money,” the 91-year-old Wayne told Fortune in an emailed statement. “It has been defined by acting with clarity, integrity and sound judgment, given what I actually knew at the time. My perspective has become much clearer over the past year as I came to understand how far the public narrative has drifted from the facts,” he wrote.

Why Wayne Chose Safety

In 1976 Apple was not a good bet to be worth much. Steve Jobs borrowed $15,000 to pay for the company's first order from a Bay Area computer store. Wayne, who later described himself as the only “adult” of the three co-founders, already owned a house, car and personal possessions. He left, because he was afraid if the business failed he would lose them.

Apple started out as a partnership, not a corporation. Each of the three founders was personally liable for debts. Wayne had failed at a previous business and walked out, one of the most expensive early exits in tech history.

Later, in the 1990s Wayne sold his original Apple partnership document for $500. Later the same historic document went on auction for over $1.6mn and later sold for $2.5mn.