Unique Pokemon card sells for US$16.5 million, smashing world record

Previously bought by US YouTuber Logan Paul for US$5.28 million in 2021, the card sold for three times that amount at an auction on Monday

Reading Time:2 minutes

The Pokemon card that fetched a record US$16.5 million at an auction in the US on Monday. Photo: Kyodo

Published: 12:40pm, 17 Feb 2026Updated: 1:09pm, 17 Feb 2026

An extremely rare Pokemon card owned by American YouTuber Logan Paul has sold for US$16,492,000, smashing the record for the most expensive trading card sold at an auction.

The supposedly unique PSA 10-graded Pikachu Illustrator was originally bought by Paul in another record-breaking sale in 2021 for US$5.28 million.

This time it was bought by AJ Scaramucci, son of former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, according to Guinness World Records, whose representatives verified the record at the auction held by Goldin on Monday.

After the successful bid, Paul placed the card, which was attached to what Guinness said was a US$75,000 diamond necklace, around Scaramucci’s neck.

Logan Paul poses for a photo in New York last year. Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

Guinness World Records certified it as the most expensive Pokemon card – as well as the priciest trading card overall – sold at an auction.

Ranging from Pikachu the mouse to Jigglypuff the balloon to the jackal-headed Lucario, there are now more than 1,000 different Pokemon characters, with new “generations” released every few years.

Unique Pokemon card sells for US$16.5 million, smashing world record

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Previously bought by US YouTuber Logan Paul for US$5.28 million in 2021, the card sold for three times that amount at an auction on Monday

Previously bought by US YouTuber Logan Paul for US$5.28 million in 2021, the card sold for three times that amount at an auction on Monday