Tech wealth auctions surge as first-half sales near $10 billion
Auction houses say AI and IPO fortunes helped lift first-half sales near $10 billion, with records from art to fossils and watches.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Tech wealth auctions are running hot, with major auction houses reporting close to $10 billion in sales during the first half of the year, CNBC reported. Auction executives told CNBC that gains tied to artificial intelligence, public offerings and rising stock markets have helped bring buyers and sellers back after a multiyear slump in art sales.
Sotheby’s said it posted $4.4 billion in first-half sales, up 58% from a year earlier and the strongest first half in its 282-year history, according to CNBC. Christie’s reported $4.5 billion in sales, up 71%, its best first half since 2021.
Artnet said eight lots sold for more than $50 million in the first six months of the year, compared with no such sales in 2024 or 2025. CNBC reported that Phillips, Heritage and other auctioneers also had strong starts to the year.
How is tech wealth changing auctions?
Auction houses say newer fortunes are spreading across more categories, from fine art and cars to watches, handbags, diamonds, whiskey and fossils. Sotheby’s CEO Charles Stewart told CNBC that current wealth creation is the biggest factor in the auction business, citing artificial intelligence interest and expected tech IPOs.
Christie’s CEO Bonnie Brennan said at the Christie’s Art + Tech Summit that the figures show renewed confidence, with owners willing to sell rare works and buyers prepared to pay high prices for them, CNBC reported.
The largest reported first-half art sale was Jackson Pollock’s “Number 7A, 1948,” which Christie’s sold for $181 million. CNBC reported that the painting had been owned by media executive and collector S.I. Newhouse, whose collection also included a Brancusi sculpture that sold for $107.6 million.
Christie’s said 30% of its first-half buyers were new to the house, and 47% of those new buyers were millennials or younger. Brennan also said 85% of bids were placed online, according to CNBC.
Watches, fossils and memorabilia draw big bids
Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo reported $235 million in watch auction sales in the first half, its highest total, CNBC said. The top watch sale was an F.P. Journe Souscription Résonance that brought $13.9 million, while CNBC noted that Mark Zuckerberg has helped raise the profile of F.P. Journe by wearing seven-figure pieces publicly.
Dinosaur fossils also set records. Sotheby’s sold a Tyrannosaurus rex specimen named “Gus” for $50.1 million, the highest auction price for a fossil, CNBC reported. The 67-million-year-old T. rex was excavated in South Dakota, and Sotheby’s said seven bidders competed for it for 10 minutes.
That sale followed Sotheby’s 2024 auction of “Apex,” a stegosaurus bought by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin for $44.6 million. CNBC reported that Apex is on loan to the Museum of Natural History.
Sports and pop-culture items are also benefiting from the same buyer base, auction executives told CNBC. Sotheby’s sold a Jalen Brunson jersey from Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Spurs for $1.024 million, and a black Tom Ford leather jacket worn by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang at a 2023 Foxconn event in Taiwan sold for $960,000, far above its $40,000 to $60,000 presale estimate, with proceeds going to charity.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.