Businessman Who Bought One Banana for 8.6 Billion Makes Shocking Offer: "I'll Sell 100,000"

Cartelan Installation Art Piece 'Comedian' Buyer
"Purchased for 35 Million Won to Help Street Vendors"

A businessman who won the bid for the installation art piece "Comedian," famous for its "banana taped to the wall," expressed his gratitude to the fruit vendor who sold the original material?a 25-cent (350 won) banana?by announcing, "I will buy 100,000 bananas."

On the 28th (local time), the New York Times (NYT) reported that Justin Sun, a cryptocurrency businessman from China who won the bid for the artwork on the 20th, revealed this plan about a week later on X (formerly Twitter). Sun said, "To thank Sha Alam," he decided "to purchase 100,000 bananas from the stand on the Upper East Side of New York." He added, "These bananas will be distributed for free worldwide through his (Sha Alam’s) stand," and wrote, "Anyone presenting a valid ID can receive one banana, while supplies last."

Maurizio Cattelan's "Comedian" exhibited last year at the Leeum Museum of Art in Yongsan, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The controversial installation art piece "Comedian" is by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. "Comedian" is a work where a banana is attached to a white wall using strong adhesive tape, first introduced by Cattelan at the 2019 Miami Art Fair in the United States. The piece is known to carry an intention to mock the realities of the art market. Last year, at Maurizio’s solo exhibition held at the Leeum Museum of Art in Seoul, a university student visitor caused a big stir by eating the banana attached to the wall, not realizing it was part of the artwork.

Justin Sun won the bid for this piece at $6.2 million (8.65 billion won). His intention is interpreted as "giving $25,000 (35 million won) to the fruit vendor and pre-purchasing 100,000 bananas so that anyone visiting this stand can receive one banana each." The stand is located near the Sotheby’s New York auction house where the artwork "Comedian" was auctioned.

A social media post by Justin Sun declaring, "I will sell 100,000 bananas." Justin Sun on X (formerly Twitter)

However, contrary to Sun’s intention, this proposal reportedly does not help the actual fruit vendor much. The NYT met with Sha Alam, a 74-year-old from Bangladesh, to hear his perspective. First, he is not the owner of the stand but a shift worker earning $12 (17,000 won) per hour, working 12 hours a day.

He said, "Selling bananas does not make a profit." Securing 100,000 bananas from the wholesale fruit market requires a lot of money, and transporting them in boxes of 100 is not easy. Even if all 100,000 bananas are sold, the remaining profit is only $6,000 (8.4 million won). Also, since he is not the stand owner, he cannot keep that money.

Mohammad Islam (53), the fruit stand owner who uses the name "Lana," told the NYT in a phone interview, "If there is profit, I will share it with Sha Alam and the seven workers at the two fruit stands I operate." However, he added, "I have not yet received an offer to buy 100,000 bananas."