There’s an emerging pocket-sized alternative asset that Kevin O’Leary believes in, and it has nothing to do with hot ticket investments like cryptocurrency or real estate.
O’Leary, who regularly appears on Shark Tank, made headlines with his record-breaking $12.9 million purchase of a Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan dual-logoman collectible trading card. The deal was struck through Heritage Auctions alongside co-buyers Matthew “Shyne” Allen and Paul Warshaw.
“This wasn’t about missing out. This was about pride, ego, and the drive to own something nobody else in the world could,” O’Leary wrote about the purchase on his Instagram (1). “That’s what pushes collectibles. Cards, watches, art, into record-breaking territory.”
A trading card might not seem like the best $13 million investment to those outside the sports fandom, but O’Leary believes its rarity holds immense financial power — similar to gold and bitcoin.
‘No different than our bitcoin holdings’
Until a few years ago, O’Leary believed paying millions for “a piece of cardboard” was outrageous.
But after working with Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, who bought Topps Trading Cards in 2022, O’Leary began looking into the hobby, he told CNBC’s Squawk Box (2). He became fascinated with “piece uniques” — cards that a person can buy at a high price and turn into a significant profit.
“It’s no different than collectible watches, in some way,” O’Leary said. “It’s so rare that the prices continue to appreciate, and they seem to defy recessions. It’s going to be a part of an index that I’m going to continue to grow along with my partners.
“We look at it no different than our bitcoin holdings, our ethereum holdings, our gold holdings.”
The fund in question could be part of Secure Collectibles, a new venture by O’Leary, Allen and Warshaw, and offers lending, sourcing and private sales, according to their website.
In an Instagram post (3) discussing the $13 million purchase, Allen mentioned both forming a “collector advisory board” and Secure Collectibles by name. It’s unclear if the board would include the three men.
Why this card?
Chris Ivy, Heritage’s Director of Sports Auctions, released a statement following the sale, noting (4), "I think that this incredible world record price reflects… [that] this is the finest modern basketball card in the world.”
The Heritage Auctions website described it as “a dazzling showpiece with aesthetics worthy of the subject matter.” (5) It sports two jersey patches — Bryant’s standard red, white and blue NBA logoman opposite a golden version from Jordan’s penultimate 1996-97 NBA Championship run. The patches are framed by Bryant and Jordan’s “blue felt-tip signatures” that are “as bold as the date of their application.”
O’Leary told Fox Business (6) that he believes in the power of sports card collecting because of its multi-generational appeal.
"The thing that’s amazing about the hobby is the relationship between a father or a mother and a daughter and a son, because if you look at collecting, everything you need to learn about entrepreneurship is baked into what happens when you start to collect cards," O’Leary said.
This begs the question: Are collectible cards becoming like fine art?
O’Leary noted that building an index is “half art, half science," because, beyond the financial potential, collectables are rare and unique in the same way as the fine art market.
Each piece has an emotional connection for the buyer: “What’s the emotional connection with the card? For me, with that card, it’s that gold logoman. It’s unique,” he said.
Article sources
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@kevinolearytv (1); CNBC (2); @shyne150 (3); Heritage Auctions (4); Heritage Auctions (5); Fox Business (6);
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