Steve Jobs’ Birkenstocks—and an NFT of them—auctioned for $218K

(Photo: Juliens Auctions)In what world would someone pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a pair of used sandals? This world – when the user in question is one of the most famous technology entrepreneurs of all time, that is. A pair of Steve Jobs’ Birkenstocks and an NFT “digital representation” of them have officially been auctioned to an unnamed buyer for $218,750, making them some of the most expensive sweaty sandals on the planet.

Los Angeles-based Julien’s Auctions is known for selling high-profile memorabilia, from hundreds of actress Betty White’s personal effects to props from Jaws and Pulp Fiction. It therefore makes sense that a pair of Apple founder Steve Jobs’ sandals from the 70s would end up in Julien’s hands. The Birkenstocks were put up for auction on Friday. By the end of the weekend, they sold for just under $220,000, well above the website’s estimate of $60,000 to $80,000. According to Julien’s Auctions, no other sandal has ever auctioned for more.

Jobs reportedly wore Birkenstocks when he and Steve Wozniak founded Apple out of a garage in Los Altos, California. Although Jobs was reportedly so intrigued by the sandal design that he contacted the woman responsible for bringing the brand to the US, he eventually gave them to his house manager, Mark Sheff. They were in Sheff’s possession for a while before Jobs died in 2011; after that, Sheff allowed the sandals to be displayed in museums and other exhibitions in Europe and the United States. Now they’re in the possession of one (lucky?) buyer, along with a one-of-a-kind NFT that shows a 360-degree view of the sandals in all their worn-out glory.

Whether you’re interested in Apple history or not, it’s hard not to see the sale of Jobs’ Birkenstocks as a little… disturbing. “The cork and jute footbed retains the impression of Steve Jobs’ feet, which had been shaped by years of use,” the auction page states. According to the auction house’s website, the sandals must be given to the buyer in a hard case for preservation and easy transport.

Those disappointed to miss out on Jobs’ used sandals can still watch longingly at the 16-second video of them twirling every which way at the bottom of the auction page. It’s not the same as feeling (or smelling) them in person, but at least you’re not out of the price of a Lamborghini or a tiny house.

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