Famous social media influencer, professional wrestler, entrepreneur, boxer, and actor Logan Paul has broken a world record selling an extremely rare collector’s item.
Paul, 30 — the older brother of social media influencer, professional boxer, and actor Jake Paul — sold the uber-rare Pikachu illustrator card in a tense auction that lasted a whopping 42 days. And the sum he received for the highly-coveted item? An eye-watering $16.5 million, which set a new Guinness World Record for the most expensive trading card sold at auction.
The man who won the auction was venture capitalist A.J. Scaramucci. Some may remember him as the son of former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who served in the role for just 11 days during President Donald Trump’s first term in office.
Per The New York Post, legendary Japanese graphic artist Atsuko Nishida — known for designing some of the most iconic characters from the Pokemon franchise, including Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and the franchise’s mascot Pikachu — designed the card for a 1998 contest. There are only a few dozen of them in the world.
Paul’s card was in rare perfect condition, which earned it a 10/10 quality rating from Ken Goldin, known as the “King of Collectables.”
Logan Paul Called the Sale ‘History in the Making’
Logan Paul took to his Instagram account during the auction and posted as the previous record was broken.
Sharing the moment with his 26.8 million followers, Paul posted a 10-second video when a bid of over $13.1 million ensured no trading card had ever sold for a higher price.
Paul captioned the post, “$13,144,000 – RECORD BREAKING AND HISTORY IN THE MAKING. 🔴 LIVE NOW ON YOUTUBE.”
The post garnered a positive reaction from Paul’s followers, including singer Wes Nelson, who wrote, “It actually ain’t slowing down!😂 Congrats brother 🙏🏽.”
Nelson was correct with his assertion, as the bid ultimately increased by a further $3.4 million, utterly shattering the previous record.
It Was a Moment Paul Will ‘Remember Forever’
Upon selling the rare card for $16.5 million, Logan Paul took to Instagram again.
This time, his post comprised three photographs and another video of the celebratory moments following the sale.
Paul wrote a lengthy caption on the post, which began, “Last night will be a night I’ll remember forever. I sold my PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator for $16,492,000, officially making it the most valuable Trading Card in the world.”
He continued, “To experience this with millions of people online and like-minded individuals in the room WHILE we broke open vintage boxes of Pokémon cards was one of the biggest highlights of my life.”
Paul went on, “Having bought this card in 2021 for $5,275,000, I’m obviously happy with the return from a financial standpoint, but I’m happier that it’s proven and cemented itself as the greatest collectible in the world. Congratulations to @treasuretrove for buying a piece of history and beginning your journey to gather the greatest treasures around. I’m glad this card is going to someone who loves Pokémon as much as I do.”
The caption ended with Paul saying, “Pokémon is a forever part of my life and I truly believe we’re just getting started. The next adventure will be even bigger ;).”
Again, the comments were full of congratulatory posts from Paul’s followers.
Transformation coach Ryan Crowley wrote, “Huge congratulations thats incredible 🙌❤️.”
UFC octagon announcer Bruce Buffer commented, “BIG CHEERS & CONGRATS CHAMP 👊 AMAZING!!! 👏💸👏💸”
Investor Dan Fleyshman wrote, “Historical moment for the entire Pokemon world.🌏🏆”
The Guinness World Records account noted, “Would be good to get some diamonds and a chain for that certificate frame too ✨.”
We’d like to congratulate Logan Paul on the impressive sale of his rare Pokemon card and, of course, for emphatically breaking a Guinness World Record.
