--- title: Apple at 40: The Original Contract Was Signed April 1, 1976 description: The original partnership was formed 40 years ago canonical: https://time.com/4274501/heres-what-happened-to-apples-third-co-founder/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-01T12:00:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:46:04.585Z article:section: History og:title: Apple at 40: The Original Contract Was Signed April 1, 1976 og:description: Here's what happened to the third co-founder? og:url: https://time.com/4274501/heres-what-happened-to-apples-third-co-founder/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b1167604ca379a7/69888cd05f570ff6ecb203b0/apple.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Apple Inc. Founding Partnership Agreement og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Apple at 40: The Original Contract Was Signed April 1, 1976 twitter:description: Here's what happened to the third co-founder? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8b1167604ca379a7/69888cd05f570ff6ecb203b0/apple.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's What Happened to Apple's Third Co-Founder > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Apple-Biggest-Releases.mp4 [Watch (HLS stream): Apple-Biggest-Releases.mp4](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DH8E4Jbt.m3u8) (2:18)  _Published 2016-03-18_  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 1, 2016 12:00 PM UTC  The Apple Inc. founding partnership agreement signed by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne, as displayed in New York City on Dec. 6, 2011 prior to being auctioned The Apple Inc. founding partnership agreement signed by Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne, as displayed in New York City on Dec. 6, 2011 prior to being auctioned Scott Eells—Bloomberg / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 1, 2016 12:00 PM UTC It was 40 years ago, on April 1, 1976, that three men signed a [contract](http://apple2online.com/web%5Fdocuments/apple%5Fpartnership%5Fagreement.pdf) that would go down in history. “WHEREAS,” it read, “Mr. Stephen G. Wozniak (hereinafter referred to as WOZNIAK), Mr. Steven P. Jobs (hereinafter referred to as JOBS), and Mr. Ronald G. Wayne (hereinafter referred to as WAYNE), all residents of the County of Santa Clara, State of California, have mutually agreed to the formation of a company to be specifically organized for the manufacture and marketing of computer devices, components, and related material, said company to be organized under the fictitious name of APPLE COMPUTER COMPANY.” On April 12, however, an amendment was filed. Ronald Wayne was giving up his status as partner, and all of his obligations and responsibilities would be taken over by Jobs and Wozniak. In exchange, he would receive $800\. (He later received another $1,500 from the company.) Wayne, as he would later [explain](http://www.amazon.com/Adventures-Apple-Founder-Ronald-Wayne/dp/0615517420#reader%5F0615517420) in his memoir _Adventures of an Apple Founder_, had first gotten involved when Jobs and Wozniak had a “modest philosophical difference” and Jobs, who had met Wayne through his work at Atari, asked for advice. **_Read more:_** [_Behold, Some of the First Apple Computer Photos Ever_](http://techland.time.com/2012/11/22/behold-some-of-the-first-apple-computer-photos-ever/) That decision has made Wayne [famous](http://www.wired.com/2010/06/apple-co-founder-ron-waynes-long-strange-and-sad-trip/) for giving up a stake in the company that would be worth billions of dollars today. In 2010, he [told](http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci%5F15214122) the San Jose _Mercury News_ that he walked away partly out of fear that his much-younger co-founders couldn’t hack the business side, and that he was “terrified to be the only one of the three founders with assets that creditors could seize.” In 2012, on Facebook, Wayne offered a full [explanation](https://www.facebook.com/RonGWayne/posts/370073493010333), from his perspective, of why he walked away: --- > “” --- In 2011, one of the original contracts was [sold](http://www.cnet.com/news/apples-founding-contract-sells-for-1-35-million/) at auction for $1.35 million. It was Ronald Wayne’s copy. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] You've just seen some pictures of Macintosh. Now I'd like to show you Macintosh in person. [ APPLAUSE ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] [ LAUGH ] [ MUSIC ] And this is what the front of it looks like. Boom. That's iPod. I happen to have one right here in my pocket, matter of fact. [ LAUGH ] There it is, right there. [ APPLAUSE ] It's so thin, it even fits inside one of these envelopes that we've all seen floating around the office. And so let me go ahead and show it to you now. [ APPLAUSE ] This is the new Macbook Air. See the photographs, read the story, it's that simple. Let me go to another website here. Let's go to Time Magazine. [ MUSIC ] See what's up on Time's website. [ MUSIC ] Just flip through the website, see what's happening. [ MUSIC ] iPhone 4 is so much more. Then just another new product. And this will have a lasting impact on the way that we actually connect with each other. Today, we're going to introduce iPhone 5. [ APPLAUSE ] Let's take a look at the new iPhone 5. But we're not quite finished yet. We have one more thing. 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