2024-07-20 08:31:36
The skeleton of a stegosaurus, which was sold for the record price of 44.6 million US dollars, was bought by the influential American billionaire Ken Griffin, reported AFP. He plans to provide the passport to an American institution to exhibit it.
Information about the buyer was disclosed in the “Wall Street Journal” and confirmed to AFP by a source close to the deal.
Ken Griffin is a hedge fund manager, founder of Citadel, and a donor to the Republican Party. In 2021, he bought an original copy of the US Constitution for $43 million and donated it to a museum in the state of Arkansas. BTA reported.
According to auction house Sotheby’s, which organized the sale in New York, the buyer “intends to explore the possibility of donating the dinosaur to an American institution.” The fossil, called Apex, is believed to be one of the most complete ever found. Apex was born in America and will stay in America,” Ken Griffin told the Wall Street Journal.
According to Forbes magazine, Ken Griffin’s fortune is estimated at 37.8 billion US dollars. He is a former student at the prestigious Harvard University and is one of its biggest donors. In 2017, the billionaire donated 16.5 million US dollars dollars to a museum in Chicago so another dinosaur can be put on display.
Stegosaurus is about 150 million years old and is one of the most recognizable dinosaurs in the world. According to Sotheby’s, it is in exceptional condition and has surpassed the record auction price previously held by a Tyrannosaurus rex.
The stegosaurus was discovered in May 2022 on the private property of paleontologist Jason Cooper. Sotheby’s says it has been working with him since the beginning to organize this sale, which the company says is a guarantee of “transparency”.
In recent years, the number of such type of auctions has been increasing. This causes debate and frustration among paleontologists who see extraordinary fossils fall into the hands of private collectors. They believe that the fossils should be in museums and used for scientific research, reports AFP.