Pokemon Pikachu Illustrator Trainer Promo Hologram Trading Card
Source: Ha.Com
Social media influencer and wrestler Logan Paul made history last week when he auctioned and sold a rare Pokémon card for $16.5 million, a world record price for a trading card auctioned. The winner sees it as an investment.
AJ Scaramucci – son of investor and former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci – won the bidding war for the “Pikachu Illustrator” card, which was produced in 1998 and is one of an estimated only a few dozen exist.
It’s the culmination of the Solari Capital founder’s short collecting career, which began with trading cards during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I mean, Picassos are great,” he said in an interview, explaining the significance of the Illustrator card. “But Pokémon means much more to people than just a Picasso painting.”
After winning, Scaramucci said purchasing the card was the first act of what he called a “planetary treasure hunt.” He said the goal he is pursuing with his younger brother is to collect a range of real, scarce assets in various categories.
Trading card markets have exploded in recent years. According to Card Ladder, an analytics firm that tracks trading card prices and sales, monthly sales volume in secondary trading has nearly doubled over the past two years.
eBay CEO Jamie Iannone explained in the company’s earnings release last week that collectibles was the largest contributor to gross merchandise volume growth in the fourth quarter, particularly “driven by continued strength in trading cards.”
Paul himself purchased the Illustrator card in 2021 for almost $5.3 million, suggesting he sold it for a return of more than 200%. Card Ladder’s “Pokémon Index” has grown 145% over the past year. Compare these profits with the S&P 500which represents an increase of 15.2% last year. Or compare it to “Magnificent Seven” darling Alphabet, which is up 73.4% over the past year.
“Particularly in 2025, the growth has been astronomical,” said Ken Goldin, founder and CEO of Goldin Auctions, which is owned by eBay. Goldin led the auction for the Illustrator card last week. “We have people who only buy because they absolutely love it or because they strongly believe that trading cards and collectibles are a legitimate alternative asset class.”
AJ Scaramucci, Founder and Managing Partner of Solari Capital, speaks during the Skybridge Capital SALT New York 2021 conference in New York City, United States, on September 15, 2021.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Scaramucci is someone who buys Pokémon cards for both reasons: his own enjoyment and the investment potential.
“The compound annual growth rate of these cards is out of control,” he said. “And they should be treated as investments because that’s what they are. It’s just obvious.”
Scaramucci added that the cards are a way to engage in “devaluation trading,” in which investors fearful of countries devaluing their currencies put money into hard assets.
Viewing collectibles as an alternative asset is not new, although unorthodox.
Other collectibles such as wine and art have been used in the past to diversify portfolios.
Photo: Image source | Getty Images
Paul Karger, co-founder and managing partner of financial advisory firm TwinFocus, said he works with clients who collect art, wine, watches and even guitars. But while some view these items as investments, Karger wouldn’t advise his clients to buy into that mentality.
“Think of it as a passion first and then as a kind of investment,” he said. “One hopes that they will increase over time, but they are absolutely not a replacement for financial assets, but perhaps just a marginal supplement.”
Karger warned that the illiquid nature of collectibles and the reliance on others to determine their value, often through auctions, pose additional risks.
Kaycee LeCong, managing director of the family office at Brighton Jones Wealth Management, also noted that there is a risk that capital gains on collectibles will be taxed at 28%, which is higher than the capital gains tax on stocks, which is around 15% and 20%.
Despite the risks, Goldin predicts that more people are looking at collectibles, especially trading cards, as alternative assets. He said the more headlines there are detailing big sales – like Paul’s – and pricing becomes easier with more data, it will only attract more participants.
Scaramucci will begin his treasure hunt through a new company called Treasure Trove. However, he did not provide any details about what the company will be and how it will work. Additionally, it is funded by Solari Capital. Scaramucci also did not disclose whether he plans to sell the Illustrator card or other of his collectibles if their value increases.
And while Scaramucci said he would like to get the Declaration of Independence as part of his hunt after winning the Illustrator card, he admitted to CNBC that it is a goal that will take a lot of work to achieve, without developing a plan on how to achieve it.
But for now, it’s the lack of clarity about his future plans that matters.
“If you think right now I’m just a crazy person buying up real, scarce assets,” he said, “that’s all you need to know.”