Record-Breaking Sale of Pokémon Card
Logan Paul has sold an ultra-rare Pokémon trading card for a record-breaking $16.5 million (£12 million), according to the auction company involved in the transaction.
The YouTuber and professional wrestler originally purchased the Pikachu Illustrator card, which is the best preserved example of one of the rarest Pokémon cards in existence, for $5.3 million (£3.9 million) in 2021. At that time, this purchase set a record for the highest price paid for a Pokémon card.
He has now sold the card for $16.492 million, including the buyer's premium, as confirmed by the auction firm Goldin.
The winning bidder was venture capitalist AJ Scaramucci, son of financier and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. AJ Scaramucci described this acquisition as the first step in a planned "planetary treasure hunt."
During a YouTube live stream, Paul described the auction result as "absolutely insane" while confetti was falling around him.
Guinness World Records adjudicator Sarah Casson then appeared to officially declare the card as the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction.
Following this, Paul was surprised by Scaramucci, who shared details about his ambitious plan for "collecting the uncollectible."
"I'm on a quest to buy a T-Rex dinosaur fossil, I'm going to buy the Declaration of Independence, and I'm not stopping there,"
he said. "This was only the beginning."
Paul also included the diamond necklace he wore during his WWE debut at WrestleMania 38 in 2022, which he then placed around Scaramucci's neck.
Virtually Perfect Condition
The Pikachu Illustrator cards were issued as part of a contest in 1998, and only about 40 of these cards are known to exist.
Paul's card stands out as the only one among them to have been graded as a 10 by PSA (Professional Sports Authenticator), an organization that rates the condition of trading cards. This grading indicates that the card is "virtually perfect."
Trading cards linked to the highly popular Japanese animation franchise have seen a significant increase in value in recent years.
Ken Goldin, the head of the auction company, was seen persuading Paul to part with his prized possession in the latest season of Netflix's "King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch."
Expensive Wedding and Financial Plans
Goldin commented on the market, stating,
"The Pokémon market is blazing hot. It's dominating the market and that's the number one card,"
He offered Paul a $2.5 million (£1.8 million) advance and a share of the proceeds from all sales in his Pokémon and TCG (trading card game) auction, with the Pikachu Illustrator card being the star lot.
Paul acknowledged that the funds would be helpful for his "expensive wedding."
"I'm not a reseller. I'm a collector,"
he told Goldin on the show. "But, candidly, I could use the liquidity. I'm good at making money. I'm better at spending money."
Paul married Danish model Nina Agdal in an extravagant wedding held in Lake Como, Italy, in August 2025.
