Elon Musk’s ex-girlfriend made $165,000 by auctioning off ‘never-seen-before’ photos of him taken in 1995
Eager bidders paid good money for Musk's candid photos
Dating billionaires has to come with its ups and downs.
But Elon Musk's ex-girlfriend made the most out of their breakup by auctioning off Musk's memento for a decent sum of cash.
Jennifer Gwynne dated the Tesla CEO from 1994 to 1995 while they were undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania. During this, he gave her a gold necklace containing an emerald from a Zambian mine owned by Musk’s father, Errol Musk.
Gwynne in fact received a hefty $51,000 for the necklace at Boston’s RR Auction on Thursday.
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'I wore the necklace for a number of years on and off, but it’s mostly been in my jewellery box for the last 10 years (always reminding me of Elon, of course),' Gwynne told RR Auction.
This was part of a collection of never-seen-before photos and memorabilia from Elon Musk’s college years which fetched her a whopping total of $165,000.
The majority of the lots in the 'Fine Autograph and Artifacts' sale were photos of the tech entrepreneur during their college days. Because there's nothing like seeing a celebrity before they were famous.
Of the 18 snapshots, the most expensive was a playful shot of Musk lying on the floor with his feet up on a dorm room desk, which sold for $21,900.
Others involved photos of the couple, one with Musk’s mother, the other with friends and fellow resident advisors dressed for a formal event.
Whilst the auction house had estimated each print at just $100, even the cheapest, over-exposed snap of Musk behind the wheel of a car brought in $1,255.
I guess, people really want to see candid Elon!
Some other photos were taken during trips to visit each other’s families in Rhode Island and Toronto.
Another item up for grabs was a birthday card Musk had signed 'Love Elon' addressing Gwynne as 'Boo-Boo.' An eager bidder managed to snag this for $16,643.
Gwynne hasn't been in touch with the SpaceX founder for many years but was inspired to auction her keepsakes after seeing that Musk’s memorabilia sold well among enthusiastic bidders.
At another RR Auction in December, an old bluebook exam and a course paper Musk graded and signed while working as a T.A. sold for $7,750.