Steve Jobs’ famous sandals have sold for a six-figure sum through an auction.
Steve Jobs, who founded tech company Apple, loved Birkenstocks sandals, and on Sunday, a buyer was able to purchase the shoes that he used in the 1970s and 1980s for $218,750, according to Julien’s Auctions. The shoes were originally valued at a much lower cost — around $60,000.
Mark Sheff, Steve Jobs’ residence manager, told Business Insider that he obtained the sandals and other things because Jobs “kept very few things.”
“We kept some, shared some with the landscapers and friends and brought some to Goodwill. The collection we ended up with is quite random,” he added.
The sandals have been on exhibit at several locations, and Jobs wore them at many important times in the life of Apple.
Jobs’ former partner, Chrisann Brennan, discussed the sandals in an interview with Vogue.
“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,” she said.
“He would never have done or bought anything just to stand out from others. He was simply convinced of the intelligence and practicality of the design and the comfort of wearing it. And in Birkenstocks he didn’t feel likea [sic] businessman, so he had the freedom to think creatively,” she added.
“Steve Jobs wore these sandals during many pivotal moments in Apple’s history,” Julien’s Auctions said on its website. “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.”
According to Julien’s Auctions’ executive director Martin Nolan, per NPR, the price tag was the most anyone has ever shelled out at an auction for a pair of sandals. Nolan also said they sold in the past for only $2,000 in 2016 at an auction.
“Steve Jobs changed the world not only with his revolutionary innovations but with his business leadership style and fashion in wearing sandals,” Darren Julien, CEO and founder of Julien’s Auctions, told CNN in a statement earlier this week. “These beloved Birkenstocks were worn by Jobs as he made history in the making of the Apple computer and were the tech icon’s signature staple.”
Shoes have been sold for more than the Jobs’ sandals in the past. Last year, a pair of Nike Air Ships that were used by basketball player Michael Jordan went for $1.47 million, which is the most a pair of tennis shoes has ever sold for at auction.
