Logan Paul breaks record with $16.49M Pokémon card sale
Logan Paul’s long-standing passion for Pokémon cards has resulted in a historic payday, as the YouTube star sold what he has described as his “holy grail” collectible for a record-setting $16.49 million (£12 million).
The rare Pikachu Illustrator card, originally produced in the late 1990s, was acquired by Paul five years ago for $5.27 million (£3.86 million), News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Considered one of the most coveted Pokémon cards ever made, only 39 copies of the card were created.
The card was sold on Monday (16 February) following a 42-day auction that concluded with hours of extended bidding. Intense last-minute offers dramatically increased the final price. Just hours before the auction closed, the highest bid stood at $6.88 million. However, in the final minutes, competitive bidding drove the price sharply higher to the eventual $16.49 million.
Based on the difference between his purchase price and the final sale amount, the 30-year-old internet personality and professional wrestler is estimated to have earned roughly $8 million in profit. Paul described the outcome as “absolutely insane.”
The sale set a new Guinness World Record for the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
Paul followed the final stages of the auction live on his YouTube channel, where he has more than 23.6 million subscribers. Reacting in real time as the price surged, he said, “Oh my gosh, this is crazy,” when the card was ultimately sold.
News.Az
By Nijat Babayev
