Jim Irsay, Colts owner who hired Tony Dungy, had a $Billion Memorabilia Collection

[60's Guy]

Jim Irsay Christies Auction
Pretty fascinating how collecting passions at this level can be a great investment. His total collection is valued at a Billion dollars. David Gilmours "Black Strat" guitar sold for $14.55 million. He paid $3.97 million.

Jerry Garcia's "Tiger" guitar sold for $11.56 million. He paid $957,000.

Ringo's first drum set with the Beatles sold for $2,393,000. He paid $1.75 million. That's $28.5 million on three items.

 

[UpAndUnder43]

Was it a great investment?

How would that same money have performed in that time if invested in a mutual fund?

 

[HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving]

Was it a great investment?

How would that same money have performed in that time if invested in a mutual fund?

I bet he looked at enough stock certificates to know his collection was more fun.

 

[gophmeister]

How much did the cane from Citizen Kane fetch?

 

[WAGopher]

How much did the cane from Citizen Kane fetch?

The cane might be worth something, but it’s Rosebud that commands the big bucks.

 

[highwayman]

He was also a raging alcoholic, which could account for his spending habits.

 

[Slim Tubby]

He was also a raging alcoholic, which could account for his spending habits.

I fail to see the correlation. My gal doesn't drink at all...

 

[akgo4]

Reported to be sending all the profits to charities if I read that corectly. I'll overlook a few bad habits if this is true.

 

[Gophers1992]

Reported to be sending all the profits to charities if I read that corectly. I'll overlook a few bad habits if this is true.

He obviously had his demons but from what I understand Irsay was generally thought of as a good guy.

 

[fmlizard]

Reported to be sending all the profits to charities if I read that corectly. I'll overlook a few bad habits if this is true.

At least some billionaires are still giving their wealth to charity upon their death.

As the social and political climate in America has changed in recent years, many billionaires who pledged at least half of their wealth to charity have rescinded those pledges.

Mostly not because they lost their money, but because philanthropy has become uncool in those circles where it previously was important. It's become okay to just be a ruthless billionaire out for himself and himself alone again.

 

[Gophers1992]

At least some billionaires are still giving their wealth to charity upon their death.

As the social and political climate in America has changed in recent years, many billionaires who pledged at least half of their wealth to charity have rescinded those pledges.

Mostly not because they lost their money, but because philanthropy has become uncool in those circles where it previously was important. It's become okay to just be a ruthless billionaire out for himself and himself alone again.

Is there data on this? I tried a very brief search and couldn’t find much.

 

[highwayman]

At least some billionaires are still giving their wealth to charity upon their death.

As the social and political climate in America has changed in recent years, many billionaires who pledged at least half of their wealth to charity have rescinded those pledges.

Mostly not because they lost their money, but because philanthropy has become uncool in those circles where it previously was important. It's become okay to just be a ruthless billionaire out for himself and himself alone again.

Gifts from top 50 US philanthropists jumped to $22.4B in 2025 − Mike Bloomberg, Bill Gates and the estate of Paul Allen lead a list of the biggest givers

Three philanthropy scholars size up the latest data on gifts from the country’s biggest philanthropists.

theconversation.com

 

[beavergopher]

He should've bought Beanie Babies!

 

[GopherTheJugular]

Was it a great investment?

How would that same money have performed in that time if invested in a mutual fund?

ETF's are the way to go man, way more affordable than mutual funds. VOO all the way!

 

[gophmeister]

He should've bought Beanie Babies!

I worked with a woman in the late 90s who was investing in Beanie Babies. I thought she was joking.

 

[GoldRush]

I worked with a woman in the late 90s who was investing in Beanie Babies. I thought she was joking.

It would have worked if she sold at the right time. Just like Pokemon cards right now.

 

[Unregistered User]

In an interview with The New York Times, Thiel claimed The Giving Pledge, or the philanthropic campaign to get the world’s wealthiest to commit to giving away 50% or more of their wealth, has fallen out of style. “They got an incredible number of people to sign up those first four or five years, and it somehow has really run out of energy,” he said. “I don’t know if the branding is outright negative, but it feels way less important for people to join.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/peter-thiel-actively-convincing-billionaires-174212328.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEgqnkcSb_Zux2Cj6YhuBonu0qTN0BrZfpDXuu19aECR7nPNShVCezYgantGa1WhUd1AuI8I7IeugMypVD5At-nrHZTEVdVh0rOR7WTeUZNATF7oDtjdQIo03-DRjgA040RY0sby3mqfQvZ2jQdv-gOBe6GURCSGBNIv8u3QFtey

 

[FredCoxRocks]

I heard his Jack Kerouac "On the Road" scroll sold for ~$12M. One of the Zachs or Bryans of country music bought it. Too many to figure them all out.

 

[highwayman]

GH members and Minnesotans in general love to tell other people how to spend their money...not theirs, of course.