BIG BUCKS

Former FTX Executive Buys Most Expensive Titanic Memorabilia Ever

The pocket watch was owned by the richest man on the Titanic, John Jacob Astor IV.

A former FTX executive forked over almost $1.5 million for a gold pocket watch owned by the richest man on the Titanic, The Wall Street Journal reported. The engraved timepiece was bought by crypto baron Patrick Gruhn last Saturday from Henry Aldridge & Son, and was the most expensive piece of Titanic memorabilia ever purchased at auction. The watch was recovered on the body of its owner, American business magnate John Jacob Astor IV, a week after the vessel descended into the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean in 1912. Gruhn was the head of FTX Europe when the company’s founder Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested on several fraud charges, for which he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Gruhn used his FTX billions to fund an opulent lifestyle, purchasing an armored Cadillac, hiring several servants, and splashing out on $13 million in properties in Oregon. Gruhn has since launched a new crypto derivatives exchange in Europe.