Successful moneyman Ken Griffin, the originator and CEO of the investment company Citadel, acquired a stegosaurus fossil hailing from the late Jurassic period for $44.6 million at a Sotheby’s sale, setting a new record as the most expensive ancient remains ever sold.
Named “Apex,” the stegosaurus is estimated to be 150 million years old, standing tall at a height of 11 feet and stretching nearly 27 feet from head to tail. It represents an almost complete skeleton made up of 254 fossilized bone pieces. The initial estimated worth for Apex’s auction was around $6 million.
Griffin emerged as the victor at the spirited auction in New York after a 15-minute bidding war with six other competitors. Sources familiar with his plans indicated that he intends to contemplate lending the artifact to an institution in the United States.
Reflecting on the purchase, Griffin proclaimed, “Apex is a product of America and will remain on American soil!”
According to Sotheby’s, Apex shows no indications of injuries from combat or signs of scavenging after its death. The stegosaurus fossil was unearthed on privately owned property in Moffat County, Colorado.
In 2018, Griffin gave a significant contribution of $16.5 million to the Field Museum in Chicago to aid in displaying a replica of the largest dinosaur ever found—a massive herbivore with a long neck from Argentina.
Furthermore, in 2021, he acquired a first-edition print of the U.S. Constitution for $43.2 million, outbidding a group of digital currency investors. Griffin subsequently lent the historic document to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas.
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