The identity of the billionaire who purchased a dinosaur skeleton for a record-breaking $44.6 million at auction has been disclosed. Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of Citadel, set new auction records with this extravagant purchase.
As per reports, the stegosaurus skeleton, believed to be 150 million years old from the late Jurassic period, stands 11 feet tall and has been aptly named “Apex.”
Excavated in Colorado in May 2022, Griffin expressed his pride in keeping Apex in America after the sale, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, which first identified Griffin as the buyer.
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Griffin secured the fossil at a Sotheby’s auction on Wednesday, outbidding six other participants. The auction, held in New York, lasted 15 minutes. Initially, the skeleton was estimated to fetch around $6 million, but Griffin’s winning bid of $44.6 million exceeded expectations, making it a record-breaking sale at 11 times the initial estimate.
A significant donor to the Republican Party, Griffin has a net worth of approximately $37.8 billion, according to Forbes. He is currently considering loaning the fossil to a U.S. institution.
Sotheby’s described Apex as the largest stegosaurus ever discovered. It stands 11 feet tall and 27 feet long, with 254 of the estimated 319 bones intact. Apex is 30% larger than “Sophie,” the most complete stegosaurus on public display, housed at the Natural History Museum in London.
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