Steve Jobs’s sandals sell for nearly $220,000
Brady Knox
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Apple founder Steve Jobs’s Birkenstock sandals sold for $218,750 at an auction.
The price was several times more than the approximately $60,000-$80,000 expected sell price, Julien’s Auctions reported. The purchase marks the largest sum of money ever paid for a pair of sandals at an auction, according to CBS News. The brown suede leather Birkenstock Arizona sandals sold were a trademark of Jobs in the 1970s and 1980s.
“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,” Jobs’s ex-partner Chrisann Brennan 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 like a businessman, so he had the freedom to think creatively.”
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Likewise, the sandals are “heavily used,” with Jobs’s foot imprint on them from extensive use.
“The sandals are well used, but still appear intact. 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. The rubber soles of the sandals show heavy wear from use,” Julien’s Auctions says.
The description for the sandals also mentions that Jobs was “fascinated” with the Birkenstocks due to the “ingenuity and practicality” of the design. He apparently wore the sandals during several monumental moments in the life of Apple, including during the designing of the first Apple computer.
Following Jobs’s death in 2011, the Birkenstocks traveled around the world after being acquired by Jobs’s former house manager, and they ended up in exhibitions across Italy, Germany, and New York City. They were sold to an unnamed buyer on Sunday.
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The sandals are accompanied by a non-fungible token, or NFT, given to the owner of the Birkenstocks.