Ronald Wayne has debunked the decades-old myth that he sold his 10% stake in Apple for $800 shortly after the company's founding. Speaking at Apple's 50th anniversary celebration, the 91-year-old co-founder stated unequivocally, 'I actually never sold my 10%.' This directly contradicts the widely circulated narrative that he departed after just 12 days and received $800 in exchange for relinquishing his share. Wayne clarified that the $800 figure relates to a separate check he received later from Steve Jobs, which he initially mistook for a tip.

The original $800 payment, he explained, was proposed by a legal agent simply to establish a figure for the buyout, not as the actual sale price. Wayne's clarification is significant because it corrects a fundamental misunderstanding about his departure from Apple's early days. While he never held onto his stake, he was formally bought out around the time Apple became a corporation, receiving a further sum to resolve any potential claims.

This legal maneuver ensured his complete dissociation from the company he helped found alongside Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Wayne's comments at the Computer History Museum event aimed to set the record straight on this specific detail, though he offered little else about his current activities beyond a vague mention of collaborating on a new computer architecture with Charles Stigger of CMD Supplies. No concrete details about this project were provided.