Priciest Trading Card Ever Auctioned Goes for $16.5M

Logan Paul just turned one of the rarest Pokémon cards on Earth into a $16.5 million payday. The YouTuber-turned-wrestler sold his mint-condition Pikachu Illustrator card through auction house Goldin, nearly tripling the roughly $5.3 million he paid for it in 2021, per the BBC. Guinness World Records adjudicator Sarah Casson appeared on Paul's live stream to confirm it as the priciest trading card ever auctioned. The buyer: venture capitalist AJ Scaramucci, son of financier and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

AJ Scaramucci said the card was his first acquisition in a "planetary treasure hunt" he has planned. He says he's also looking to buy a T-Rex fossil and a copy of the Declaration of Independence during the hunt, "and I'm not stopping there." The treasure hunt's mostly blank website teases an opportunity to collect "the uncollectible." Only about 40 Pikachu Illustrator cards exist, and Scaramucci's is the lone copy graded a perfect 10 by Professional Sports Authenticator, a top card-rating firm. Paul sweetened the deal by including the diamond necklace he wore to display the card during his 2022 WrestleMania debut.