A collector living in Dubai has revealed how he sold the world’s most valuable Pokemon card to YouTube star Logan Paul for almost $5.3 million (Dh19.4m).
In his first ever interview, the collector known only as Dubsy told The National how he bought the card for $60,000 in 2015 before selling it last year.
The sale was acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the most expensive Pokemon trading card sold in a private sale.
The holographic “PSA Grade 10 Pikachu Illustrator” card was sold by Dubsy following a deal at the Burj Al Arab last year.
“I bought the card privately through an auction house back in 2015. I paid $60,000 [Dh220,000] for the card,” said the mysterious Dubsy, who refused to reveal his true identity beyond being a 40-year-old man living in Dubai.
Lavish setting for mega deal
“Logan was looking for the card throughout 2020 when he first got into Pokemon. I wasn't interested in selling the card but he initially came in with an offer of $4m,” Dubsy said.
“I spent the whole day contemplating whether I should sell the card and I couldn’t bring myself to part with it.
“A few months had passed and I was contacted by Logan's middleman again with a new offer and the rest is history.”
Dubsy said he was determined to maintain his anonymity when he met Paul to make the transaction at the Burj Al Arab last July.
He received a cash payment of $4m plus another rare Pokemon card that was worth more than $1.25m.
“Logan travelled to Dubai with his camera crew and friends to film the whole event,” he said.
“The sale was officially done through his lawyer, who wrote up a contract with the details, and the card exchange was done personally when he was in Dubai.”
Dubsy said he had sold many items over the years but this was by far his biggest sale.
“I collect a wide range of historical collectables including vintage comic books, video games and trading cards,” he said.
“I did not know what Logan was planning to do with the card but he is free to do whatever he wants with it.”
The card was put on display by the YouTube star earlier this year when he wore it during an appearance at WWE's showpiece WrestleMania event in April.
This month, it was reported that Paul had signed a multiyear deal with the sports entertainment company, although details of the contract have not been revealed.
Logan's run of success and controversy
Paul has 23.5 million YouTube subscribers as well as 23.2 million followers on Instagram.
The social media personality first came to prominence on the now-defunct social media platform Vine, where he attained a modest following with his short, comedic videos. After Vine was discontinued, Paul turned to YouTube, where his fame swiftly grew.
He secured a number of small roles on television, but his popularity turned to notoriety as he was embroiled in a number of controversies.
One of the most notable occurred when he posted a vlog from Japan's “suicide forest” that showed the body of an apparent suicide victim, causing major backlash, with more than 720,000 people signing a Change.org petition to have his channel deleted — which did not happen.
He is most widely known for his exhibition fight against boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather in June 2021.
Paul announced his plan to sell the card as an NFT, with people invited to invest in the card — with the YouTube star maintaining a 49 per cent stake.
The card was only one of 39 created in 1998 to be given to the winners of a Pokemon illustration contest.
The cards were graded by PSA, an authentication service. Paul's new acquisition is the only one to receive a Grade 10, meaning it is virtually perfect, with “four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus and full original gloss”.
