© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Steve Jobs' worn-out Birkenstocks sell for $218,000 at auction

Steve Jobs' sandals sold for $218,750 at auction. Their present odor is unknown.
Julien's Auctions
Steve Jobs' sandals sold for $218,750 at auction. Their present odor is unknown.

Sandals worn by Steve Jobs in the early days of Apple sold for $218,750 at an auction in New York City on Sunday.

The brown suede Birkenstock Arizonas were worn by Jobs in the 1970s and 1980s during "many pivotal moments in Apple's history," according to the auction house.

It's the highest price ever paid for a pair of sandals at auction, Julien's Auctions executive director Martin Nolan told NPR, and a record for footwear at the auction house.

The sandals came from the collection of Mark Sheff, who managed Jobs' Albany, Calif., estate in the 1980s. Other items associated with Jobs have been sold at auctions in recent years, sometimes reaching hefty prices — an Apple-1 Computer prototype from the mid-1970s fetched $677,196.

The sandals were previously sold for a mere $2,000 at auction in 2016, Nolan said.

The winning bidder did not want their name disclosed, but it was sold in the room at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, according to Nolan. The runner-up bid was from a potential buyer in China.

This is far from the most someone has paid for footwear at auction.

Nike Air Ships worn by Michael Jordan in 1984 sold for $1.47 million a year ago. Black Nikes worn by Kanye West at the 2008 Grammys sold for $1.8 million last year as well.

The auction also included an NFT of images of the Birkenstocks as part of the sale.

But perhaps the most pressing question about the sandals, seeing as the auction house notes that they show "heavy wear": Do they smell?

Nolan only answered that they "do smell ... of success."

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

James Doubek is an associate editor and reporter for NPR. He frequently covers breaking news for NPR.org and NPR's hourly newscast. In 2018, he reported feature stories for NPR's business desk on topics including electric scooters, cryptocurrency, and small business owners who lost out when Amazon made a deal with Apple.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content