Sotheby's Sells 67-Million-Year-Old T. rex for Record $50.1 Million as AI Wealth Lifts Auctions
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jul 24
Sotheby's Sells 67-Million-Year-Old T. rex for Record $50.1 Million as AI Wealth Lifts Auctions
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jul 24
Summary
$50.1 million bought "Gus," a 38-foot Tyrannosaurus rex fossil Sotheby's sold this month after seven bidders battled for 10 minutes, setting a new auction record for any fossil.
Nearly $10 billion in first-half auction sales helps explain that price: Sotheby's posted a record $4.4 billion, up 58%, while Christie's reached $4.5 billion, up 71%.
Auction executives tied the rebound after almost three years of declines to wealth created by the AI boom, tech IPOs and rising stock markets, which are drawing younger buyers into art and collectibles.
Eight lots topped $50 million in the first half versus none in 2024 or 2025, while demand also spread to watches, sports memorabilia and pop-culture items such as Jensen Huang's $960,000 jacket.
That shift is reshaping what counts as a trophy asset, with dinosaur fossils joining blue-chip art as tech-rich buyers seek scarce objects they view as stores of value.