Ask the average person what he or she would do with $28 million, and we're guessing that buying a 2,000-pound statue of Popeye the Sailor Man would be near the bottom of the list.
Not so for casino mogul and billionaire Steve Wynn. The Las Vegas tycoon recently dropped $28 million for a larger-than-life statue designed by legendary artist Jeff Koons, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The piece had been expected to draw around $25 million during the Sotheby's auction in New York, according to Art Daily. When will people learn to stop underestimating Popeye?
The idea of spending so much on a statue of the spinach-chomping, Bluto-stomping cartoon character may sound ridiculous, but the piece of art may prove to be a wise investment on Wynn's part.
Koons only created three of the Popeye statues. Another of his works, Balloon Dog, was auctioned for a staggering $58 million last year, making it the most expensive piece of art sold by a living artist, CNBC reports.
In a 2012 interview with Stephen Colbert, Koons said he likes the way art makes him feel. Colbert joked back that it makes Koons feel rich. Clearly, he's not a starving artist.
Wynn reportedly plans to display the glossy statue — complete with spinach, bulging muscles, and pipe — in his Las Vegas casino-hotel. Assuming, that is, that he doesn't put an elbow through it first.
