# Pop culture up for auction: The booming multimillion-dollar business of selling celebrities’ personal belongings

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/pop-culture-up-for-auction-the-booming-multimillion-dollar-business-of-selling-celebrities-personal-belongings/
- Published: 2026-11-03T16:56:28+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-04T01:02:51+00:00
- Original publisher: El País (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://english.elpais.com/culture/2026-11-03/pop-culture-up-for-auction-the-booming-multimillion-dollar-business-of-selling-celebrities-personal-belongings.html
- Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, World

## Key points

- Celebrity belongings can sell for tens of thousands of dollars.
- Provenance and personal history can drive prices higher.
- Diana’s “revenge dress” is expected to fetch up to €258,000.

## Summary

Auctions of celebrities’ personal belongings are attracting strong interest, with collectors paying large sums for objects that offer a tangible link to famous people and cultural moments. Marilyn Monroe is a leading example: even ordinary items associated with her continue to sell for striking prices.

Recent sales include David Lynch’s coffee maker at $35,000 and Matthew Perry’s script from a late episode of Friends at $75,000, sold to benefit his recovery-focused foundation. Kim Kardashian paid £163,800 for Princess Diana’s Attallah Cross in 2023, while Diana’s “revenge dress” is expected to fetch €130,000 to €258,000 at a forthcoming auction. Auction specialists say documented ownership and personal history can raise an item’s value well beyond its materials.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.