Wealthy financier Ken Griffin, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the investment firm Citadel, purchased a stegosaurus skeleton dating back to the late Jurassic era for $44.6 million at a Sotheby’s auction, establishing a new milestone as the priciest fossil ever auctioned.
Dubbed “Apex,” the stegosaurus is aged at 150 million years, towering at a height of 11 feet and spanning close to 27 feet in length from tip to end. It stands as a nearly intact skeleton composed of 254 fossilized bone fragments. The initial projected value for Apex’s auction was approximately $6 million.
Griffin emerged triumphant at the lively auction event in New York following a 15-minute bidding skirmish with six other contenders. Sources familiar with his intentions indicated that he aims to explore lending the artifact to an establishment within the United States.
Reflecting on the acquisition, Griffin stated, “Apex hails from America and shall remain within America!”
As per Sotheby’s, Apex demonstrates no traces of battle-related injuries or signs of scavenging subsequent to its demise. The stegosaurus fossil was excavated on privately owned land in Moffat County, Colorado.
In 2018, Griffin made a substantial contribution of $16.5 million to Chicago’s Field Museum to support the exhibition of a replica of the largest dinosaur ever discovered—a colossal herbivore with an elongated neck from Argentina.
Additionally, in 2021, he secured a first-print edition of the U.S. Constitution for $43.2 million, outbidding a coalition of digital currency investors. Griffin subsequently loaned the historic document to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Arkansas.
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