AJ Scaramucci, the founder and managing partner of Solari Capital, just paid $16.49 million for the only PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card in existence, shattering every previous record for a trading card sold at auction. The sale, which closed on February 16, 2026, through Goldin Auctions, was certified by Guinness World Records as the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction. Scaramucci purchased the card from Logan Paul, who originally acquired it in 2022 for $5.275 million and walked away with roughly a 3x return on his investment.
The Pikachu Illustrator card has long occupied a mythical status in the hobby. Created in 1998 and awarded to winners of a Japanese illustration contest, only 41 copies were ever produced. This particular copy is the sole example to receive a perfect PSA 10 grade from Professional Sports Authenticator, which is what makes the price tag less surprising to anyone who has watched the high-end card market evolve over the past decade. This article breaks down who Scaramucci is, what the card represents, how the sale unfolded, what it means for the broader Pokémon card market, and whether cards at this level function more as collectibles or as alternative investments.
Table of Contents
- Who Is AJ Scaramucci, and Why Did He Spend $16.49 Million on a Pokémon Card?
- The Pikachu Illustrator Card — Why This Specific Card Commands Record Prices
- How the Sale Went Down at Goldin Auctions
- What the $16.49 Million Sale Means for Pokémon Card Valuations
- The Risk of Treating Pokémon Cards as Pure Investments
- Logan Paul’s Journey with the Card — From WrestleMania to $16.49 Million
- Where Does the Trophy Card Market Go from Here?
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
Who Is AJ Scaramucci, and Why Did He Spend $16.49 Million on a Pokémon Card?
AJ Scaramucci is not a random crypto bro throwing money at a meme purchase. He is the son of Anthony Scaramucci, the SkyBridge Capital founder and former White House Communications Director, and has built his own track record in venture capital and tech. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and has worked at Google, HubSpot, and Tesla before co-founding SALT, a global investment and leadership platform. He also served as Managing Director at ABG and invested in AI companies at Sinovation Ventures alongside Dr. Kai-Fu Lee. His current firm, Solari Capital, positions him squarely in the world of alternative investments, and this purchase fits that thesis better than it might appear at first glance.
In November 2025, the Scaramucci family led a $220 million investment in American Bitcoin, a crypto mining firm tied to the Trump family. AJ was reportedly roommates with American Bitcoin’s president Matt Prusak at Stanford. The pokémon card purchase, viewed through this lens, is less about nostalgia and more about a venture capitalist allocating capital toward scarce, appreciating assets. Whether you agree with paying eight figures for a piece of cardboard or not, the buyer profile tells you something important about where certain investors see value right now. This is not a frivolous purchase by someone who does not understand money. It is a calculated bet on scarcity.
The Pikachu Illustrator Card — Why This Specific Card Commands Record Prices
The pikachu Illustrator was never sold in packs. It was created in 1998 by the Pokémon company as a prize for winners of a Japanese illustration contest run through CoroCoro Comic magazine. Only 39 cards were awarded to contest winners, with 2 additional copies sold separately, bringing the total production run to just 41 cards. Compare that to even the most sought-after vintage cards in other hobbies — a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle had a print run in the thousands — and you begin to understand why the Illustrator sits in a category by itself. What elevates this specific copy beyond every other Illustrator is the grade. Professional Sports Authenticator, the industry’s most trusted grading authority, has evaluated every known Pikachu Illustrator that has been submitted.
This is the only one to receive a PSA 10 — a perfect score indicating gem mint condition. The gap between a PSA 9 and a PSA 10 in the ultra-high-end market is not incremental; it is exponential. logan Paul’s original 2022 deal to acquire the card was structured as $4 million in cash plus a PSA 9 version of the same card, valuing the total transaction at $5.275 million. The fact that the PSA 10 has now tripled in value in roughly four years while the PSA 9 was essentially used as a trade-in tells you everything about what condition means at this level. However, if you are collecting Pokémon cards and hoping to replicate this trajectory, understand that the Illustrator is a one-of-one situation. Most cards, even rare ones, do not have the same supply constraints or cultural cachet to support this kind of appreciation.
How the Sale Went Down at Goldin Auctions
The auction was handled by Goldin, the dominant auction house in the modern trading card and collectibles market. Goldin has facilitated many of the highest-profile card sales in recent years and has become the go-to platform for consignors looking to maximize value on elite items. Logan Paul consigned the card after announcing in January 2026 that he was putting it up for sale, a move that generated weeks of anticipation across the hobby. The auction closed on February 16, 2026, with the final hammer price landing at $16.49 million.
Scaramucci was physically present at Goldin’s headquarters during the auction, and Paul handed the card over to him during a livestream, adding a layer of spectacle that has become standard for sales at this level. For context, the previous record for any trading card sold at auction was well below this figure, and Guinness World Records moved quickly to certify the result. Paul, who famously wore the card around his neck during his WrestleMania appearance in 2022, seemed satisfied with the outcome. Turning $5.275 million into $16.49 million in four years is a return most hedge funds would struggle to match.
What the $16.49 Million Sale Means for Pokémon Card Valuations
One common reaction to a sale like this is the assumption that all Pokémon cards are about to skyrocket. That is not how the market works. The Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10 is a singular asset — there is literally one copy in existence at that grade. Its price movement does not directly translate to your Base Set Charizard or your modern alt-art pulls. What it does signal, however, is that the ceiling for the Pokémon card market continues to rise, and that serious capital from outside the traditional hobby is now flowing in.
The tradeoff collectors need to understand is the difference between trophy cards and the broader market. Trophy cards — unique promos, contest prizes, error cards with documented provenance — operate more like fine art. Their prices are driven by scarcity, story, and buyer competition at the top. The rest of the market, from vintage booster packs to modern chase cards, follows more conventional supply-and-demand dynamics. A rising tide from a headline sale like this can create short-term enthusiasm, but the long-term value of any given card still depends on print run, condition, and sustained demand. If you are sitting on a PSA 7 Base Set Blastoise, the Scaramucci purchase does not change your card’s fundamentals.
The Risk of Treating Pokémon Cards as Pure Investments
It is tempting to look at Logan Paul’s 3x return and conclude that high-end Pokémon cards are a reliable investment vehicle. They are not, at least not in the way that term is traditionally understood. Cards do not generate cash flow. They have storage and insurance costs. Their value is entirely dependent on finding another buyer willing to pay more, and liquidity at the eight-figure level is thin. Paul found his buyer, but the pool of people willing and able to spend $16.49 million on a trading card is vanishingly small.
There is also the grading risk. PSA’s standards, while consistent, are not immune to controversy. Cards can be cracked out of cases and resubmitted in hopes of a higher grade, and the difference between a 9 and a 10 — which in the Illustrator’s case represents millions of dollars — can come down to edge wear invisible to the naked eye. For collectors considering cards as part of a diversified portfolio, the warning is straightforward: treat them as passion assets with potential upside, not as substitutes for index funds. The Scaramucci purchase makes sense within the context of a venture capitalist’s broader alternative investment strategy. It makes less sense as a model for the average collector to follow.
Logan Paul’s Journey with the Card — From WrestleMania to $16.49 Million
Logan Paul’s ownership of the Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10 was always as much about spectacle as it was about collecting. When he acquired the card in 2022 for $5.275 million, he did not lock it in a vault. He wore it in a custom case around his neck during his WrestleMania match, turning a piece of Pokémon history into a viral moment that reached audiences far beyond the hobby.
That kind of exposure arguably contributed to the card’s continued appreciation, because it kept the Illustrator in the cultural conversation in a way that a quiet private sale never would have. Paul’s decision to sell through Goldin rather than in a private transaction was also significant. A public auction creates a transparent price record, which benefits the broader market by establishing a verifiable benchmark. The $16.49 million result is now the number every future Illustrator transaction will be measured against.
Where Does the Trophy Card Market Go from Here?
The Scaramucci purchase raises an inevitable question: is there a ceiling? At $16.49 million, the Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10 has entered territory previously reserved for fine art, rare automobiles, and sports memorabilia at the absolute highest level. Whether another Pokémon card can approach this figure is unlikely in the near term, simply because no other card combines the same degree of scarcity, cultural significance, and condition rarity. But the broader trend is clear. The generation that grew up with Pokémon now has the capital to compete for these assets, and institutional-adjacent buyers like Scaramucci are treating them as legitimate stores of value.
Looking ahead, the cards most likely to benefit from this upward pressure are other low-population, high-grade vintage Pokémon promos and trophy cards with documented provenance. The market for modern cards, while healthy, operates on a different scale entirely. For collectors and investors watching from the sidelines, the takeaway is not to chase the next Illustrator. It is to understand that the market has matured to the point where a $16.49 million sale is met with serious analysis rather than disbelief. That shift in perception matters more than any single price tag.
Conclusion
AJ Scaramucci’s $16.49 million purchase of the only PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator card is now the most expensive trading card sale ever recorded at auction, certified by Guinness World Records. The sale represents the convergence of extreme scarcity, perfect condition, cultural significance, and a buyer with the resources and conviction to pay a premium for a one-of-one asset. Logan Paul’s roughly 3x return over four years will be cited in every future debate about whether collectibles belong in an investment portfolio. For the Pokémon card market as a whole, this sale is a landmark but not a tide that lifts all boats equally.
The fundamentals of card collecting still apply: condition matters, scarcity matters, and provenance matters. What has changed is the perception of the asset class itself. When a Stanford MBA running a venture capital firm is the buyer, and Guinness World Records is certifying the result, the hobby has moved well beyond its origins. Whether you collect for passion, profit, or both, the Scaramucci sale is a data point you cannot ignore.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Pikachu Illustrator cards exist?
A total of 41 Pikachu Illustrator cards were ever produced. Thirty-nine were awarded to winners of a 1998 Japanese illustration contest, and 2 additional copies were sold separately. Of those 41, only one has ever received a PSA 10 grade, which is the card Scaramucci purchased.
How much did Logan Paul originally pay for the Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10?
Paul acquired the card in 2022 for $5.275 million, structured as $4 million in cash plus a PSA 9 version of the same card. His sale to Scaramucci at $16.49 million represents approximately a 3x return on that original investment.
Who is AJ Scaramucci?
AJ Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of Solari Capital and co-founder, co-chairman, and president of SALT, a global investment and leadership platform. He is the son of Anthony Scaramucci, holds an MBA from Stanford, and has previously worked at Google, HubSpot, and Tesla.
Is the Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10 the most expensive trading card ever sold?
Yes. Guinness World Records certified the $16.49 million sale on February 16, 2026, as the most expensive trading card ever sold at auction, surpassing all previous records across any trading card category.
Will this sale make other Pokémon cards more valuable?
Not necessarily. The Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10 is a unique asset with no comparable substitute. While the sale demonstrates growing confidence in the high-end collectibles market, most Pokémon cards do not share the same extreme scarcity or cultural significance. Individual card values still depend on their own supply, demand, condition, and provenance.
Where was the card sold?
The card was sold through Goldin Auctions, one of the leading auction houses for trading cards and collectibles. The auction closed on February 16, 2026, and Scaramucci was present at Goldin’s headquarters when the sale was finalized.
