Logan Paul sells his record-breaking Pokémon card for triple the amount he bought it for
Topics: Logan Paul, Instagram, Pokemon, Money, Business, Social Media, YouTube, Japan
Ellie Kemp
Featured Image Credit: Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
Topics: Logan Paul, Instagram, Pokemon, Money, Business, Social Media, YouTube, Japan
Logan Paul has finally sold the rare Pokémon card he initially bought for $5 million for a staggering amount.
The YouTuber-turned-wrestler has made history after bidding concluded for the Pikachu Illustrator card on Monday (February 16).
Paul purchased the card in July 2021, setting a Guinness World Record for the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold.
It's one of only 39 created for a Pokémon illustration competition in the late 90s, as CNN reports - and the only one with a perfect card grading rating of 10 by authentication agency PSA.
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Auction house Goldin described it as 'the holy grail of all Pokémon cards' as it went under the hammer, with bidding concluding on Monday after 41 days.
Bidding officially opened on January 5 after Goldin moved the start date forward due to what it described as 'overwhelming global interest,' as Polygon reports.
Within the first week alone, bids jumped from $500,000 to $4.3 million. The price plateaued briefly at $5.1 million, but a late surge of offers flooded in ahead of the February 15 closing time, with extended bidding lasting hours into the early morning.
Paul managed to sell it for a whopping $16.492 million, making it the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
After fees, he’s believed to have made more than $8 million in profit, which Paul himself called 'absolutely insane.'
While either of those figures would be a life-changing sum of money for the average person, the card's $16 million value is just 11 percent of Paul's reported net worth.
As of October, the social media star is apparently worth $150 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Paul vowed to hand-deliver the prestigious card - dubbed the 'Mona Lisa of collectibles' - to its new owner, whose identity is yet to be disclosed.
Originally awarded to winners of a 1998 illustration contest run by Japan’s CoroCoro Comic, the Pikachu Illustrator card was designed by Atsuko Nishida, the original illustrator of Pikachu.
Paul previously revealed that he upgraded to the pristine copy by trading in a PSA 9 version of the same card along with $4 million in cash. He later spent $70,000 on a custom protective case and diamond-encrusted necklace to house it, famously wearing the card to the ring at WrestleMania 38.
"From Guinness World Records to WWE debuts, Netflix to National News, this card and I have been on a generational run," Paul reflected in an emotional Instagram post.
"This sorta feels like that moment when you beat the Elite Four, get inducted into the Hall of Fame, and the game restarts.
"As this Grail changes hands, I’m excited to go on my next Pokémon journey," he concluded.
In case you're wondering what Paul is cooking up next, he quickly announced a new venture called Ripit, which apparently offers 'VIP early service' to rip packs that represent 'real, physical graded cards.'