Steve Jobs‘ “well-used” Birkenstocks set a record for the highest price ever paid for a pair of sandals at auction when the Apple co-founder’s footwear sold for US$220,000, Julien’s Auctions said.
The sandals sold for about three times their estimated value, which was listed as $60,000 to 80,000 on the auction house’s website. The unnamed bidder also received a 360-degree digital representation of Jobs’ Birkenstocks in the form of an NFT.
The footbed of the Birkenstocks “retains the imprint of Steve Jobs’ feet, which had been shaped after years of use,” the auction house wrote in its description of the sandals.
The auction house says the sandals were previously owned by Jobs’ former house manager, Mark Sheff, who saved them from the trash when Jobs, a devoted minimalist, was clearing out his home, he said.
These Birkenstocks were supposedly worn by Jobs during the 1970s and 1980s.
Jobs co-founded Apple, now the most valuable company in the world, along with Steve Wozniak in 1976 and was known for wearing a uniform of sorts consisting of a black turtleneck, blue jeans, and either Birkenstocks or grey sneakers. He died in 2011 from pancreatic cancer complications.
“Steve Jobs changed the world not only with his revolutionary innovations but with his business leadership style and fashion in wearing sandals,” said Darren Julien, CEO and founder of Julien’s Auctions, in a statement. “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.”
While these may be the most expensive sandals to go to auction, they aren’t the most expensive footwear.
That title goes to the Nike Air Yeezy 1 Prototype, designed by Nike’s creative director for rapper Kanye West, which sold for $1.8 million in a private Sotheby’s auction. West performed in the shoes at the Grammy Music Awards in 2007.
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