Billionaire buys plant-eating dinosaur for a whopping $45 million
The skeleton of a large dinosaur, nicknamed 'Apex,' fetched a whopping $44.6 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York. This sale price far exceeded the pre-sale estimate of $4-6 million and set a new record for dinosaur fossils sold at auction. The previous record was held by a Tyrannosaurus rex fossil named "Stan," which fetched $31.8 million in 2020.
It was discovered by commercial paleontologist
The nearly complete fossil of Apex was discovered by commercial paleontologist Jason Cooper in 2022 on his property near the town of Dinosaur, Colorado. Standing 11-feet tall and measuring 27-feet from nose to tail, Apex is considered one of the most complete dinosaur fossils ever found. Interestingly, this skeleton of stegosaurus—a small-headed herbivorous dinosaur—also showed signs of arthritis. Cassandra Hatton, who heads Sotheby's science-related business, referred to Apex as "a coloring book dinosaur" due to its well-preserved features.
Billionaire buyer may loan 'Apex' to US institution
The valuable fossil was purchased by American billionaire Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel LLC, against six other bidders. The sale of dinosaur fossils often stirs disappointment among academic paleontologists who believe these specimens should be housed in museums or research centers that cannot afford such high auction prices. In response to these concerns, Sotheby's revealed that the buyer intends to explore loaning Apex to a US institution, potentially making it accessible for further study and public viewing.
