On January 3, 1977, Apple Computers was officially incorporated, marking the beginning of one of the most impressive success stories in the tech world. However, few know that the company originally had three founders, not two. Ronald Wayne, a little‑known participant in this story, could have become one of the richest people on the planet, but fate had other plans.


Wayne, who was 42 at the time Apple was founded, joined Steve
Jobs and Steve Wozniak, being considerably older and more experienced than his young partners. He was assigned the role of a kind of “adult in the room” – the person who was to temper the ambitions and eccentricities of the two geniuses and channel their energy constructively.


For his role Wayne received 10% of the newly formed company's shares. This decision seemed logical: Jobs and Wozniak were only 21 and 26 years old, respectively, and they needed an experienced mentor. Wayne, who had behind him experience working in various tech companies, including Atari, where he met Jobs, seemed the ideal candidate for that role.


Just 12 days after signing the founding documents, on April 12, 1976
, Wayne decided to leave Apple's founding team. He was worried about potential financial risks: being the only one of the three partners who had assets that could be confiscated in case of failure, Wayne feared he could lose all his savings.


For his share in the company, Wayne received a check for $800. Later, to avoid
potential legal issues, the newly formed Apple corporation bought back his share again, paying an additional $1500. Thus, the total amount Wayne received for giving up 10% of Apple’s shares was $2300.


Wayne’s decision to leave Apple’s founding team turned out to be one of the most costly in business history. By 2013, his stake in the company could have been worth over $30 billion. By comparison, that is more than the GDP of many small countries.