I have written about celebrity auctions in previous blogs, so when I heard Cher was purging her home in preparation for a major two-day auction I wondered how successful it would be. Well, the results are in and personally I am floored by how much was raised. All tolled the star’s goods raked in a total of $3.5 million. My jaw dropped when I heard that the total surpassed the million-dollar mark. Typically, an auction that raises that more than $2 million is one that involves items from a multitude of celebrities or treasured good from famous individuals (Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy) who have died.
So, how did Cher’s items manage to raise that much cash? Chock it up to a loyal fan base. According to news reports, it was an item which sat in the back of the songstress’ closet that brought in the most money. Of the dozens of vintage gowns and flashy costumes Cher put up for auction, a skimpy black number made of fishnet, rhinestone and patches of fabric got the highest bid. A representative from Sotheby’s (the firm which helped run the auction) said the Bob Mackie-designed outfit, which came with a black leather jacket, sold for $60,000 – about twice the asking price.
But, by all accounts, the star of the auction was a black 2005 Bentley Continental GT Coupe, which fetched the highest bid of $204,000, or about $34,000 more than the asking price. Another big bid-getter was Cher’s Gothic revival brass bed, circa 1865, which sold for $84,000.
In the end, more than 700 items were sold at auction, including clothing, furniture, and jewelry. But, who knew the pieces would raise more than $3 million dollars? Certainly not Cher. According to her publicist the singer and actress (who did not attend the auction) said she was amazed by what people were willing to spend for her possessions. Not bad for someone who simply wanted to purge her house of unwanted items so that she would have room to redecorate (a percentage of the auction’s proceeds will go to benefit several charitable foundations.)