A rich financial backer named Ken Griffin, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the hedge fund Citadel, acquired a stegosaurus skeleton from the late Jurassic era for $44.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction, setting a new milestone for the most costly fossil ever sold at auction.
The stegosaurus, dubbed “Apex,” boasts an age of 150 million years, towers at 11 feet in height, and extends nearly 27 feet from head to tail. A nearly complete skeleton containing 254 fossil bone components, Apex was initially projected to sell for about $6 million.
Griffin emerged triumphant at the live auction in New York after participating in a 15-minute bidding tussle with six other contenders. Sources familiar with his plans indicated that he is contemplating offering to lend the specimen to an establishment in the United States.
Reflecting on the acquisition, Griffin conveyed, “Apex originated in America and will remain in America!”
As per Sotheby’s, Apex displays no evidence of injuries from combat or signs of scavenging post its demise. The stegosaurus fossil was unearthed on private land in Moffat County, Colorado.
In 2018, Griffin extended a significant contribution of $16.5 million to Chicago’s Field Museum to help in showcasing a replica of the largest dinosaur ever discovered—a colossal herbivore with an elongated neck from Argentina.
Furthermore, in 2021, he purchased a first-edition of the U.S. Constitution for $43.2 million, surpassing bids from a consortium of digital currency investors. Griffin subsequently provided the historic document on loan to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas.
Image Source: m.e.s.t.o.c.k / Shutterstock
