Ron Wayne

Ron Wayne

Ronald Gerald Wayne (Ronald G. Wayne) (born May 17, 1934) is a retired American businessman and electronics industry pioneer. On April 1, 1976, Wayne, along with Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, drafted an original contractual partnership agreement, creating the Apple Computer Company (now Apple Inc.). Selected by Jobs, Wayne was included as a (10%) owner to arbitrate any disputes that might arise between Jobs (45%) and Wozniak (45%). His vital set of complementary skills as a technical writer, model builder, draftsman, and expert documentation system developer proved to be a perfect dovetail match for the partnership. In addition to providing administrative oversight and guidance for the fledgling venture, Wayne was instrumental at the outset in establishing the proprietary nature of Apple products. As soon as Wayne successfully persuaded Wozniak on this pivotal decision, the partnership was formed. Although he fully supported the venture, Wayne elected to formally separate himself from this partnership just 12 days after it began. He went on to develop a new line of electronic slot machines replacing the mechanical models of that period. Wayne relinquished his (10%) share of the partnership back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800 (equivalent to $4,114 in 2022), and one year later accepted a final payment of $1,500 (equivalent to $7,714 in 2022) to forfeit any potential future claims he might assert against the newly incorporated Apple.

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