Logan Paul owned a PSA 10 (Gem Mint) Pikachu Illustrator card, one of the scarcest Pokémon cards in existence. He acquired it in 2021 and sold it in February 2026 through the auction house Goldin. Guinness World Records identifies the buyer as AJ Scaramucci, so Paul is now the card’s former owner.
What the Pikachu Illustrator is
The Pikachu Illustrator was never sold in stores. Guinness World Records says it was released as a prize in a 1998 illustration contest, and that 39 were given to contest winners. Guinness credits the design to Atsuko Nishida, whom it describes as the original creator of Pikachu. The Associated Press also attributes the card to Nishida’s 1998 contest design and reports that only a few dozen are believed to exist. The exact figure of 39 comes from Guinness’s report. No independent census of surviving copies was available, so the number should be read as the record’s count rather than a verified total.
How Paul acquired it in 2021
Guinness records Paul’s purchase on 22 July 2021 in Dubai, from collector Marwan Dubsy. The deal was a trade rather than a straight cash sale. Paul handed over a PSA Grade 9 Pikachu Illustrator, which he had earlier acquired from collector Matt Allen in Italy, and paid the balance in cash.
| Component of the 2021 trade | Value (per Guinness) |
|---|---|
| PSA Grade 9 Pikachu Illustrator, given in the trade | $1,275,000 |
| Cash paid | $4,000,000 |
| Total trade value | $5,275,000 |
The $5,275,000 figure is the total value of the exchange, not a separate price for the PSA 10 copy alone. At the time, Guinness recognised the deal as the record for the most expensive Pokémon card sold in a private sale. That record refers only to private sales and does not carry over to auctions.
#1 Best Overall
Paul explained the purchase to Guinness in April 2022: “The Pikachu Illustrator is one of the rarest and most highly coveted Pokémon cards in the world.” He also stressed that the card was the only one graded a perfect “10”.
The 2026 sale through Goldin
Guinness reports that the card sold through the online auction house Goldin on 16 February 2026. AP reported the sale at about $16.5 million after 41 days of bidding. The two headline numbers differ because one includes the buyer’s premium and the other does not.
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| Measure | Amount | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Winning bid | $13.3 million | Bid amount before the buyer’s premium |
| Final announced price | $16,492,000 | Winning bid plus the buyer’s premium; the figure in Guinness’s record entry |
Guinness describes the sale as a record for a Pokémon card sold at auction, and as a record for any trading card sold at auction. When comparing this sale with the 2021 private-sale record, keep the categories separate: a private trade in 2021, and a public auction in 2026 with a premium-inclusive final price.
Paul told Guinness about the transfer in terms that point to how long he had pursued the card: “Someone is going to own the Guinness World Records [title] setting card that I hunted for years, and that I wore out to my Wrestlemania debut.”
Rank #3
Who owns it now
Guinness identifies AJ Scaramucci as the buyer, and AP independently reports the same name. Paul therefore no longer owns this card. The most recent reporting available for this article is the February 2026 sale. If the card has changed hands since then, that transfer would not appear in these sources.
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