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”.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
FIXTURES
Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney
Note: d/n = day/night
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
%3Cp%3EYears%3A%20October%202015%20-%20June%202024%3Cbr%3ETotal%20games%3A%20491%3Cbr%3EWin%20percentage%3A%2060.9%25%3Cbr%3EMajor%20trophies%3A%206%20(Premier%20League%20x%201%2C%20Champions%20League%20x%201%2C%20FA%20Cup%20x%201%2C%20League%20Cup%20x%202%2C%20Fifa%20Club%20World%20Cup%20x1)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Director: Shady Ali
Cast: Boumi Fouad , Mohamed Tharout and Hisham Ismael
Rating: 3/5
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
