The talk of the Pokémon world has been the elusive Pikachu Illustrator card in Logan Paul’s possession, or should that be rectified, formerly, in his possession. The world’s most expensive Pokémon card is now even more valuable, and the identity behind the buyer is fascinating.
Logan Paul once sported his outrageously expensive Pikachu Illustrator card around his neck as he walked down the ramp for Wrestlemania. Dubbed ‘The most coveted card in the world,” the PSA Grade 10 Pokémon Illustrator card is as rare as a Pokémon card gets, and it changed hands for an extraordinary sum in 2026.
Who Bought The Pokémon Pikachu Illustrator Card From Logan Paul?
AJ Scaramucci is now the owner of the world’s most expensive Pokémon card after buying the Pikachu Illustrator card from Logan Paul for $16.492 million in an auction.
Monday, February 16, 2026, will go down in history as one of the most extraordinary auctions ever.
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Goldin has recognized that Paul’s Pikachu Illustrator PSA 10 card (with gold chain and all!) was sold for exactly $16,492,000—including Buyer’s Premium.
AJ Scaramucci is the lucky bidder who has claimed this incredible collector’s item, and Guinness World Records has said it’s the most expensive trading card ever sold at any auction.
Who Is AJ Scaramucci?
AJ Scaramucci is a wealthy venture capitalist, and you might know the name as he is the son of former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.
After winning the card, Scaramucci told Paul he wanted to collect even more unique items:
“I’m on a quest to buy a T-Rex dinosaur fossil, I’m going to buy the Declaration of Independence, and I’m not stopping there. This was only the beginning.”
You can’t knock the man’s ambitions! It remains to be seen if Scaramucci manages to obtain any of his other targets. The guarantee is that he now owns the only PSA 10-graded Pikachu Illustrator card in the world—the only one of the 39 to 41 cards printed.
How Much Did Logan Paul Buy His Pokémon Card For?
It seems like peanuts now, but Logan Paul had originally set the record for the most expensive Pokémon card trading purchase when he bought the Pikachu Illustrator card for $5.275 million in 2021.
Not bad profit, all things considered. Paul has made about $10 million profit from selling the card, and the Guinness World Record you can see above now goes to AJ Scaramucci.
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If Scaramucci is true to his word about collecting, then this record is likely to be broken again, and no one else will ever get to own this particular Pikachu Illustrator. If you have other ideas, you’d better get saving.
Is any collector’s card worth this much money? Or has AJ Scaramucci got himself an item that anyone would do anything for? Please share your thoughts through the Insider Gaming Discord Server.
Check out Pokémon EUIC 2026 Twitch Drops for more content.
Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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