Kanye West’s Yeezys are the most expensive sneakers ever sold.
The prototype Nike Air Yeezy 1s fetched a record-breaking $1.8 million in a private sale, Sotheby’s auction house announced on Monday. They set a new milestone for a publicly-recorded sneaker sale, exceeding the original valuation of $1 million. The “Grammy Worn” Yeezys nearly tripled the $615,000 sale for a pair of 1985 Nike Air Jordan 1s worn by Michael Jordan during a pre-season game in Italy.
Kanye wore the black leather high-tops with the Nike Swoosh when he performed “Hey Mama” and “Stronger” at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008.
The size 12 shoes were acquired by RARES, a sneaker investing platform that will allow users to “own a piece of the world’s most valuable shoe” by selling shares of the sneakers on June 16.
“Our goal in purchasing such an iconic shoe–and a piece of history–is to increase accessibility and empower the communities that birthed sneaker culture with the tools to gain financial freedom through RARES,” Gerome Sapp, RARES founder and CEO, said in a statement.
West ended his collaboration with Nike in 2013 before taking the brand to adidas. His Yeezy empire brought in an estimated $1.7 billion in sales in 2020, according to Forbes.
