91-Year-Old Claims 10% Apple Stake Still His

Ronald G. Wayne, one of the three original founders of Apple Computer Company, has asserted that he still legally holds a 10% stake in the company. Wayne co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak on April 1, 1976, but withdrew less than two weeks later, reportedly due to concerns about potential business liabilities.

While widely believed to have sold his stake for a small sum, Wayne disputes this, stating he never formally sold his interest and received no payment under contract for it. Now 91 and residing in Pahrump, Nevada, Wayne reflects that he has never regretted his decision to leave, likening staying with Apple to 'having a tiger by the tail' and fearing a worse outcome than merely not becoming wealthy.

Wayne also designed Apple's very first logo, a depiction of Isaac Newton under an apple tree, which he created as a 19th-century style illustration. He met Jobs and Wozniak while working at Atari, where he acted as a mentor due to his extensive experience.

Despite Apple's current market cap of approximately $3.6 trillion, Wayne expresses a pragmatic outlook on his situation. He states that while he would naturally desire the immense wealth, he remains a realist who follows events as they evolve. Wayne's perspective on Steve Jobs's death was that it was simply an event, not something that personally affected him.