A street vendor in NYC unwittingly became the star of a $6.2 million auction, thanks to a banana.
Shah Alam, 74, pedaled bananas for pennies on NYC streets but became a curiosity after a common, everyday banana made its way into famous Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan's auction, as a multi-million dollar art piece.
Cattelan duct-taped the banana to a wall in an ironic commentary on the art world's obsession with absurdities. Alam was initially unaware of the significance of the banana but was later taken by surprise on learning he had originally sold the banana, the New York Post reported.
Sotheby's sold the humble 35-cent banana for $6.2 million. Alam, a nearly blind Bangladeshi immigrant, said he was devastated. He was unaware of the banana's newfound fame until a reporter broke the news to him.
The fruit seller said he works 12 hours a day, four days a week, in every weather. He earns $12 an hour — or $576 a week.
"I am a poor man," Alam told the reporter. "I have never had this kind of money; I have never seen this kind of money."
The new owner of the infamous duct-taped banana was none other than Justin Sun, the founder of the cryptocurrency platform TRON.
Alam, who lives in a $500 rented basement apartment with five other people in the Parkchester section of the Bronx, was appalled at the amount the everyday banana fetched. "Those who bought it, what kind of people are they?" he asked a New York Times reporter. "Do they not know what a banana is?"
Cattelan confessed to feeling a pang of sympathy for Alam and the billionaire, with a net worth of $1.4 billion, decided to peel off a few bucks to help Alam.
"To thank Mr. Shah Alam, I've decided to buy 100,000 bananas from his stand in New York's Upper East Side," Sun tweeted Thursday afternoon. "These bananas will be distributed free worldwide through his stand."
To thank Mr. Shah Alam, I’ve decided to buy 100,000 bananas from his stand in New York's Upper East Side. These bananas will be distributed free worldwide through his stand. Show a valid ID to claim one banana, while supplies last. https://t.co/jbCnh0u3JI
— H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 (@justinsuntron) November 28, 2024
Mr. Alam’s contribution to this extraordinary artwork is indispensable, highlighting the boundless possibilities and value hidden in everyday life. I hope this initiative will bring his story to a broader audience and, one day, I look forward to visiting his fruit stand in person…
— H.E. Justin Sun 🍌 (@justinsuntron) November 28, 2024
Cattelan named the artwork "Comedian," but Alam thought it was at his expense. Later, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to help Alam cope with the staggering disparity of fortune.
"Do we really want to live in a city where we can shrug off a street vendor who's moved to tears by the fact that he's been made the butt of a joke involving an amount of wealth obscene to him, while celebrating some smartass for figuring out how to make $6 million from that joke? If this utter and gross indifference isn't what ails us, what is?" the anonymous fundraiser wrote in the GoFundMe description.
The fundraiser more than tripled its $5,000 goal.
