A well worn and tattered pair of sandals that belonged to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs have sold for nearly £200,000. The brown suede leather Birkenstock Arizona footwear sold at auction alongside an NFT of the sandals for a total of $218,750 (£184,000).
The price for the Birkenstocks was considerably higher than their estimate, which was $60,000 (£50,400). The final price was a world record for a pair of sandals sold at auction.
According to Julien's Auctions, Jobs sometimes wore the sandals as he hatched the beginnings of the Apple computer in 1976 in a Los Altos garage with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. They were saved from being thrown out by Mark Sheff, the house manager to Jobs.
Jobs, who died of pancreatic cancer in 2011, became known for wearing a simple work uniform, including a black turtleneck and blue jeans. Jobs' ex-partner Chrisann Brennan said in an interview with Vogue titled Apple Meets Birkenstock: "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."
The lot was sold at the Hard Rock Cafe in New York City and online with thousands of bidders, fans and collectors from around the world participating. The buyer was not named.
