Here are the most expensive NFTs bought by celebrities – and what they’re worth today
In April 2021, Paris Hilton released her first non-fungible token (NFT), telling CoinDesk at the time that NFTs had “literally taken over my whole mind and soul.” While Hilton says she actually started investing in cryptocurrency back in early 2016, she really made a splash by being one of several celebrities to publicly “monkey in” during the 2021 hype.
But times are different now. Since the start of 2022, the price of ether has fallen by 60%, and NFT trading volume has fallen 88% since the third quarter of 2021, according to a report by Alchemy. As the bear market roars on and the hype around NFTs has died down, CoinDesk wondered, what are the NFTs that celebrities bought worth now?
We took a look at what celebrities paid for NFTs back then, according to rankings from crypto data aggregator CoinGecko, and what they would be worth now if they sold for the exact same amount of Ether (ETH) today.
1. Snoop Dogg
In December 2021, rapper and music producer Snoop Dogg purchased digital artist XCOPY’s work, Right click and save as guy.
Snoop bought the original NFT for 1,600 ETH, or $7,088,229 at the time. With Ethereum’s drop in value, the same amount of ETH would be worth $2,083,456 – less than two-thirds of its original value.
Snoop’s growing interest in NFTs and Web3 has been notable over the past couple of years. In February 2022, Snoop Dogg shared his plans to turn Death Row Records into an NFT music label, releasing a collection of NFT songs on OpenSea weeks later.
2. Gary Vee
Entrepreneur and NFT influencer Gary Vaynerchuk (commonly known as Gary Vee) bought CryptoPunk #2140 for 1,600 ETH – which was $3,953,216 in July 2021.
Snoop and Vaynerchuck paid the same amount of ETH for their tokens; However, Vaynerchuck got a better deal than Snoop by buying his token five months earlier. The price today for their NFTs would be the same for both men: $2,083,456.
Vaynerchuck, the entrepreneur who founded restaurant reservation platform Resy, owns over 7,000 NFTs, according to a press release. He is not only a collector but also a builder in the Web3 space. In May 2021, he launched an NFT collection called VeeFriends on OpenSea, and in May 2021, he filed a trademark for Vayner3, his own NFT consulting firm.
3. Justin Bieber
Pop singer Justin Bieber is next with the purchase of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) #3001, which he bought in January 2022 for $1,301,550, or 500 ETH. Justin sparked speculation on Instagram after he posted the picture of the monkey without confirming that he bought it.
If Bieber bought this NFT today, it would cost $651,080.
4. Steve Aoki
Steve Aoki, DJ and music producer, bought Doodle #2238 for 269.69 ETH, or $862,056, in January 2022.
If Aoki bought the Doodle today, it would have cost him $351,179 – less than half of the original purchase.
Aoki has been an advocate for the growing Web3 space. Last April, he released Sci-Fi NFTs on the NFT platform Nifty Gateway, and secured funding to create an NFT TV show in August 2022.
5. Logan Paul
Notorious YouTuber-turned-WWE fighter Logan Paul purchased K4M-1 #03 from the 0N1 Force Collection. Paul bought this NFT for 188 ETH in February 2021 for $624,669, which would be $244,806 today.
However, this “Bumblebee NFT” has been in the news as one chirping claimed it was worth just $10 today went viral. When decentralized application data site DappRadar dug into the data, it estimated the token to be worth 8.12 ETH, or about $10,516, in real life.
Paul’s early steps into the NFT space allowed him to tap into collections in the early days of the hype. He currently has several CryptoPunks, World of Women NFTs, as well as a Bored Ape on two accounts at OpenSea.
6. Neymar Jr.
Neymar Jr., the Brazilian soccer player for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), bought BAYC #5269 in January 2022 for 186.69 ETH, which was $569,531 at the time. If he bought the NFT today, it would be worth $247,007.
Neymar bought BAYC #6633 on the same day, paying a total of $1.05 million for the pair.
While he made the token his profile picture momentarily amid the hype, his roots in cryptocurrency run deeper. In 2018, his football club made plans to create a social token with the European blockchain company Socios, which has also partnered with Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City.
7. Marshmello
DJ and music producer Marshmello bought CryptoPunk #8274 in October 2021 for $504,069, or 130 ETH. Today that would be $169,280.
Marshmello bought other tokens in the past, including BAYC #4808, which he bought in September 2021 and sold the following December for a profit of $180,000. According to his wallet on OpenSea, the artist still owns CryptoPunk #8274, and also has BAYC #9231, and more CrypToadz among other tokens.
8. Madonna
“Queen of Pop” Madonna also got in on the NFT hype, buying BAYC #4988 for 180 ETH in March 2022.
At the time of purchase, she paid $466,461. Today it is worth $234,388.
While Madonna bought her NFT near the end of the hype period, she launched an NFT collection with artist Beeple in May called “Mother of Creation,” which, as usual for Madonna, sparked some controversy.
9. Eminem
Rapper Eminem bought BAYC #9055 for 123.45 ETH, which in December cost him $453,776. Now the token would cost him $160,757.
Twitter user @Gee_Gazza, the original owner of the token, tweeted his appreciation for the rapper who bought his token and asked to write a lyric in his next song. Since Pete Davidson’s “Saturday Night Live” skit explaining NFTs in the style of Eminem, the rapper has released a collection called SHADYCON on the NFT platform Nifty Gateway, featuring pieces inspired by the artist’s childhood and passion for collectibles.
10. Tom Brady
Quarterback Tom Brady completes the list with the purchase of BAYC #3667 in April 2022.
At that time, he paid 133 ETH, or $453,062. Now it’s about $173,187.
The legendary footballer has made big bets on the Web3 site, co-founding the NFT company Autograph and releasing his own collections there. Before that, Brady said that he and Gisele Bündchen bought equity in crypto exchange FTX in June 2021. While he hasn’t revealed specifically what he owns, he has confirmed that he has invested in cryptocurrency.
Hype or HODL?
When celebrities buy an NFT, it often makes the news in stories of profit and hype. However, the reasons can vary – whether it’s for an attempt to contribute real value to the growing Web3 community or just to jump on the trend.
While less-than-favorable market conditions have created upheavals in the NFT space, it will be interesting to see which celebrities continue to buy digital assets and evangelize for the utility and community side of NFTs, while others change their PFPs and lose interest in their once-shiny purchase.
