Birkenstocks Worn by Steve Jobs During 'Pivotal Moments in Apple's History' Sold at Auction for $218K

The Apple co-founder wore the Birkenstock sandals during the 1970s and 1980s and was "fascinated" by them, according to Julien's Auctions

steve jobs
Photo: Alexandra Wyman/Getty; Julien's Auctions

A pair of Steve Jobs' Birkenstock sandals have been sold at auction for nearly a quarter of a million dollars.

The famous footwear, worn by the Apple co-founder in the 1970s and 1980s, was sold to an unidentified bidder on Sunday for $218,750, according to the online listing posted by Julien's Auctions, a Los Angeles-based auction house.

Julien's said Jobs wore the shoes "during many pivotal moments in Apple's history," including when he and fellow Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak started the company in a garage in Los Altos, Calif.

"When Jobs discovered the ingenuity and practicality of Birkenstocks, he became fascinated," the auction house wrote.

steve jobs
Julien's Auctions

Jobs died in 2011 at age 56 following a years-long battle with pancreatic cancer. Mark Sheff, who previously served as Jobs' house manager, owned the late tech mogul's sandals prior to the auction, according to Julien's Auctions' listing.

In a 2016 email exchange with Insider, Sheff said he collected the sandals and other "random" items as Jobs threw them away.

steve jobs
Julien's Auctions

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The shoes appear to be "intact," though they seem to have gone through "heavy" wear-and-tear, Julien's Auctions said.

Before Sunday's sale, Jobs' sandals had previously been on exhibit in Italy, Germany and at Birkenstock's first U.S. store in Manhattan between 2017 and 2022, per the auction house's listing.

Most recently, the shoes were on display at the Wurttemberg History Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, from 2020 to 2022.

Related Articles