Steve Jobs Had the Best Response After Someone Sent Him a Letter Asking Him for His Autograph
Steve Jobs, the man behind the tech behemoth Apple and the game-changing iPhone, was one of the most popular entrepreneurs across the globe who could convince people to buy products priced higher in comparison to other brands. But at the same time, he wasn't too keen on giving autographs to fans. Hence when an individual requested an autograph from Jobs back in 1983, he decided to infuse his sense of humor in a typed-out reply, which was apparently autographed by him. According to The Economic Times, a US citizen identified as M. Varon wrote to the late tech billionaire with a request to acquire his autograph. But Jobs used a typewriter to respond to Varon and wrote his name in lowercase at the bottom of the letter.
“I’m honored that you’d write but I’m afraid I don’t sign autographs," Jobs' letter read as he decided to put his name in black ink on the letter. The rare letter with his autograph for a fan was auctioned in August 2021 for $479,939, as per the outlet. His autograph is also well-recognized amongst people because he had a habit of not capitalizing his first and last name. According to a study of Jobs' signature by RR Auctions, in the last 40 years, they have found only 8 autographs from the Apple co-founder.
His signatures were found on a business card that was sold in 2012 for $5,600, a document that sold in 2013 for $40,000, and his 1973 job application for an astounding $174,757 in March 2018. Along with that, his rare autograph was found in a newspaper called Palo Alto Daily Post, a 338-page Apple Mac OS X Administration Basics spiral-bound manual, and an issue of Newsweek for a senior Lotus buyer who worked at the manufacturing facility in 1988.
However, Jobs wasn't being rude in refusing to sign random autographs, but he simply believed that "everything at Apple was a group effort so he didn't like to sign and take credit for everything," as per the outlet. Jobs' autographs are considered extremely valuable because of his celebrity status and also because he rarely signed anything for fans. According to Britannica, in 2003 Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer and the following year he underwent a major reconstructive surgery known as the Whipple operation. In 2009 Jobs received a liver transplant. In August 2011 he resigned as CEO of Apple that was two months before his death.
The letter was shared with the Reddit community by u/santiClaud and the netizens had some interesting thoughts on it. u/Eastern-Recording-53 recalled: "I was at the Apple Store in NYC when Macbooks were first released. Jobs was there and I was the first one in the store. I went right to the register to pay for it and Jobs himself was standing behind the register. He asked me what the hurry was, I told him and he opened the box and signed the white laptop with a fresh black Sharpie." Many others wondered if this person still has the signed Macbook or not because that could fetch millions in recent data as well. Looking at the demand and money people are paying for Jobs' autographs, u/AdFine5362 remarked: "Everything Apple is always overpriced."