$3 Million Bourbon and 5 Other Unusual and Expensive Charitable Donations
Written by
Terence Loose
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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When someone pays more than $5,000 for a used Kleenex, it’s the definition of the saying, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.” In this case, the tissue-generated treasure went to charity. But it wasn’t the only bizarre item auctioned off for big bucks.
Here are details on the tissue and five more of the craziest big-ticket charity items.
A Barrel of Pappy Van Winkle 15-Year-Old Bourbon
- $3.1 million
A single bottle of Pappy’s 15-year-old bourbon goes for $200 and a barrel holds about 125 bottles, giving the barrel a retail price of $25,000, according to Whiskey Advocate. So paying $3 million is a bit inflationary. But this is inflation at its best — proceeds benefit the World Central Kitchen and Another Round Another Rally, which supplies emergency assistance to hospitality industry personnel.
This particular barrel went to help Los Angeles fire victims, MSN reported. Drink up.
Spike Lee’s Golden Nikes
- $50,800
This pair of “Tinker” Air Jordan 3s were one of two pairs made for the iconic director Spike Lee, who wore a pair when he accepted the Academy Award for “BlacKkKlansman” in 2019, according to LoveMoney. This set was found in Portland Rescue Mission’s Burnside Shelter, which will benefit from the sale.
Captain Kirk’s Kidney Stone
- $25,000
Nope, you read that right. In 2006, William Shatner’s kidney stone fetched $25,000 after he had it surgically removed. The money benefitted Habitat for Humanity and, according to CharityCar.com, when the stone was sold, Shatner quipped, “This takes organ donors to a new height, to a new low, maybe. How much is a piece of me worth?”
Gold Lego Piece
- $18,101
A 14-karat rare gold Lego piece was found in a box of jewelry donated to a Pennsylvania Goodwill store, according to CBS News. The piece — a Bionicle Golden Kanohi Hau Lego Mask — was one of about 25 made in the early 2000s, mostly as giveaways. But when it went up for auction on Goodwill.com, it was anything but a freebie.
Atari Video Game
- $10,590
Remember those 8-track-like Atari cartridges? Well, not all of them are useless landfill now. In 2021, Atari’s “Air Raid” sold for more than $10,000 on Goodwill’s auction site. Is the game that great? Maybe not, but it’s one of only 13 known copies, according to LoveMoney.
Scarlett Johansson’s Used Tissue
- $5,300
Apparently, celebrity snot is worth its weight in gold and then some. In 2008, while appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, actress Scarlett Johansson blew her nose in a tissue and put it up for auction for charity, according to BBC News.
More than 80 bids later, Johansson’s sniffles generated thousands for USA Harvest, a charity fighting hunger.
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