A pair of suede leather Birkenstock sandals personally owned and worn by famous co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, is up for auction and is expected to cost US$60,000 to US$80,000.
The shoes also come with a book by Jean Pigozzi called 鈥淭he 213 Most Important Men In My Life," which has candid photos of Jobs and other celebrities like Mick Jagger and Elon Musk.
Jobs, who died in 2011 due to complications from pancreatic cancer, wore the shoes in the 1970s and 80s, .
The item is a part of the Science and Technology auction, held by Bonhams, which features physical items of technology and documents linked to key moments or individuals in the history of technology.
As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, the winning bid was US$22,500 with only two people placing offers. Bidding started at US$15,000.
Jobs' first wife, Chrisann Brennan, told Vogue, "The sandals were part of his simple side. They were his uniform. The great thing about a uniform is that you don鈥檛 have to worry about what to wear in the morning."
According to Julien's Auction website, Jobs wore the sandals during "pivotal moments" in Apple's history, including when he hashed out the plans for the first Apple Computer with co-founder Steve Wozniak.
This is not the first time Jobs' sandals have been of interest. In 2017 the shoes were at multiple international exhibits, in Italy, Germany and New York. From 2020-2022, they could be viewed at the History Museum Wuttemberg, in Stuttgart, Germany.
"The sandals are well used, but still appear intact," a description from the . "Each sandal features its original Birkenstock adjustable buckles and Birkenstock stamping on the inner edge of the suede leather foot straps. The cork and jute footbed retains the imprint of Steve Jobs' feet, which had been shaped after years of use."
This comes after a 1987 Macintosh computer used by Jobs went up for sale with an estimated value of US$200,000 to US$300,000. The 20MB hard drive included tasks Jobs was working on at the time, including a marketing project.
Numerous other objects in the auction were linked to Jobs, including a business card from when he worked at NeXT, the startup company Jobs formed in 1985 after leaving Apple. The card sold for US$4,080 along with a collection of personal items from his office at NeXT, including several magazines and a videotape of highlights of a 1990 presentation by Jobs (which sold for US$5,100).
With files from Alexandra Mae Jones.
