At 91, Ronald Wayne, Apple’s cofounder, says he has no regrets about selling his stake in 1976, which would now be worth billions.

(SeaPRwire) –   While Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are the names most synonymous with Apple, a third, often overlooked signature was on the company’s founding documents 50 years ago: Ronald G. Wayne.

Wayne, an Atari engineer at the time, was recruited by Jobs to help convince Wozniak to start the computer venture. Acting as what he later called the “adult in the room,” Wayne wrote the initial partnership agreement and received a 10% ownership share, with Jobs and Wozniak taking 45% each.

Merely 12 days after joining, he departed.

Worried about the financial liabilities of the partnership, Wayne sold his stake back for $800, later accepting another $1,500 to relinquish all future claims. Given Apple’s current market capitalization of approximately $4 trillion, that 10% share could now be valued at over $400 billion.

Wayne subsequently led a quiet life as an engineer for decades, far from Silicon Valley, eventually retiring in Nevada. He has depended largely on Social Security and supplements his income by selling collectible stamps and coins.

Now 91, Wayne states he reflects on his choice not with regret, but with a sense of clear-eyed understanding.

“My success has never been defined by money,” Wayne said in an emailed statement. “It’s been defined by acting with clarity, integrity, and sound judgment, given what I actually knew at the time. My perspective has become much clearer over the past year, as I came to understand how far the public narrative has drifted from the facts.”

While selling his stake appears a monumental financial error in retrospect, Apple was an extremely risky proposition in 1976. Jobs secured a $15,000 loan to fill the first order from a local computer store that Wayne knew had a poor payment history. Unlike his younger partners, Wayne owned a home, a car, and other personal assets he worried could be lost if the venture collapsed.

Apple’s third cofounder’s advice for young entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship is an increasingly popular career choice for younger generations. ZipRecruiter’s latest Graduate Report indicates nearly 38% of 2025 and 2026 graduates are thinking about starting their own businesses, a trend emerging as entry-level employment opportunities have become more scarce.

Wayne, however, offers a caution to aspiring founders: be wary of deals that seem excessively favorable.

“Understand exactly what you are agreeing to, particularly in a general partnership, where liability is not limited to your ownership percentage,” Wayne said. “Each partner can be held responsible for the full amount of any obligation.”

The potential rewards in business may be unlimited, but so are the potential losses, he added.

“Understand your risk in practice, not just on paper. Have counsel,” Wayne stated. “And never assume your exposure ends at your percentage, because it doesn’t.”

Despite his early exit, Wayne has not fully avoided Apple’s legacy. He has instead embraced the irony of his story. This month, he collaborated with Anheuser-Busch to market a different type of apple: the returning Busch Light Apple beer, a limited release that has triggered another wave of enthusiastic demand.

“Let me show you where a man’s wealth really lies,” Wayne quipped in a promotional video, gesturing to a garage stocked with beer. “Yep, still a really good investment.”