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Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin has bought the largest and most complete stegosaurus fossil ever found for a record $44.6m (£34.3m).
The dinosaur fossil, dubbed “Apex,” was auctioned off in New York by Sotheby’s on Wednesday, with its sale price vastly outstripping pre-sale estimates of up to $6m.
A tyrannosaurus rex nicknamed “Stan” was sold for $31.8m (£24.5m) in 2020.
Although the buyer’s name was not disclosed by Sotheby’s, people close to Mr Griffin confirmed to the Financial Times that he was the successful bidder.
Sotheby’s said the buyer intends to loan Apex to an institution in the US.
Mr Griffin, who has been among the potential suitors to buy The Telegraph alongside GB News co-owner Sir Paul Marshall, outbid six other rivals for the dinosaur, which is 11ft tall and spans 27ft nose to tail.
It marks his latest investment in dinosaur fossils, having previously donated $16.5m to the Field Museum Chicago in 2018 to pay for the display of a cast of an Argentine herbivore known as a titanosaur. That was the largest dinosaur fossil ever discovered.
Separately, Mr Griffin also paid $43.2m for a copy of the US Constitution in 2021, which he loaned to the Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas.
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Before that, he bought a $122m mansion near Buckingham Palace that once belonged to French president Charles de Gaulle, in what was then the most expensive London house sale in a decade.
In its auction document, Sotheby’s said Apex was a huge stegosaurus that lived long enough to show signs of arthritis.
Almost entirely complete, the fossil includes 254 fossil bone elements of an approximate total of 319, with additional 3D printed and sculpted elements.
It was excavated two years ago on private land in Moffat County, Colorado, near the town of Dinosaur.
Cassandra Hatton, who heads Sotheby’s science-related business, said Apex “has now taken its place in history, some 150m years since it roamed the planet”.
The stegosaurus was one of the world’s most distinctive dinosaurs, featuring pointed plates on its back and spikes on the end of its long tail that it is thought was used to fend off predators.
Citadel was contacted for comment.