Evening Sale

Draft figures. Numbers are placeholders and not final.

Research

Evening Sale, London

The Most Expensive Affair in History

Six affairs and sex scandals, offered as lots and priced at what each verifiably cost, in 2026 US dollars.

Sale
9 November 2026, 7pm
Lots
1 to 6
Currency
US dollars, with sterling equivalents

Lots offered

  1. 1Jensen HuangNvidia, 2026$150bn to $270bn
  2. 2Jeff BezosAmazon, 2019$38bn to $47bn
  3. 3Alec WildensteinWildenstein & Co., 1999$2.5bn to $4.9bn
  4. 4Tiger WoodsGolf, 2009$5bn to $12bn
  5. 5Steve EasterbrookMcDonald's, 2019$105m to $125m
  6. 6John ProfumoSecretary of State for War, 1963Withdrawn

The sale begins with Lot 1.

Lot 1

Jensen Huang

Nvidia, 2026

Co-founder and chief executive of Nvidia. On 9 November 2026 he acknowledged an affair. Nvidia shares fell on the day of the admission. The hammer price is the market value lost by the close, and rests on a single trading session.

Estimate
$150bn to $270bn

Awaiting the first bid

$31bn

  1. IcelandGDP, 2024$31bn
  2. LuxembourgGDP, 2024$90bn
  3. KenyaGDP, 2024$124bn
  4. MoroccoGDP, 2024$155bn
  5. UkraineGDP, 2024$190bn

Sold$199bn

£151bn. Provisional.

  • Slightly more than the GDP of Ukraine.
  • 287 days of NHS England spending.

1.44 billion hours at the UK average escort rate of £105.

Lot 2

Jeff Bezos

Amazon, 2019

Founder of Amazon. The divorce from MacKenzie Scott was announced in January 2019, shortly before reports of an affair. Settled that July with 25 per cent of his Amazon stake, about 4 per cent of the company.

Estimate
$38bn to $47bn

Awaiting the first bid

$31bn

  1. IcelandGDP, 2024$31bn
  2. At settlementValue in 2019$38bn
  3. LatviaGDP, 2024$43bn

Sold$47bn

£35.7bn. In 2026 dollars.

  • Equivalent to the GDP of Bahrain.
  • 68 days of NHS England spending.

340 million hours at the UK average escort rate of £105.

Lot 3

Alec Wildenstein

Wildenstein & Co., 1999

Art dealer and racehorse owner. His wife, Jocelyn, found him at home in New York with another woman. The divorce of 1999 was reported at $2.5bn, plus $100m a year.

Estimate
$2.5bn to $4.9bn

Awaiting the first bid

$2.3bn

  1. LesothoGDP, 2024$2.3bn
  2. As reportedValue in 1999$2.5bn
  3. BhutanGDP, 2024$3bn

Sold$4.9bn

£3.7bn. In 2026 dollars, excluding annual payments.

  • Slightly less than the GDP of Fiji.
  • 7 days of NHS England spending.

35 million hours at the UK average escort rate of £105.

Lot 4

Tiger Woods

Golf, 2009

Professional golfer. A car accident outside his Florida home in November 2009 was followed by reports of several affairs. A UC Davis study estimated the loss to shareholders of his sponsors, in 2009 dollars. Sponsorships worth about $22m a year ended.

Estimate
$5bn to $12bn

Awaiting the first bid

$5bn

  1. Low estimate2009 dollars$5bn
  2. FijiGDP, 2024$5.5bn
  3. MontenegroGDP, 2024$7.4bn

Sold$7.6bn

£5.8bn. Sold at the low estimate, in 2026 dollars.

  • Equivalent to the GDP of Montenegro.
  • 11 days of NHS England spending.

55 million hours at the UK average escort rate of £105.

Lot 5

Steve Easterbrook

McDonald's, 2019

Chief executive of McDonald's. Dismissed in November 2019 over a consensual relationship with an employee. In 2021, after the company found further relationships, he returned $105m in cash and shares.

Estimate
$105m to $125m

Awaiting the first bid

$31.8m

  1. Stan, a TyrannosaurusAuction, 2020$31.8m
  2. Apex, a StegosaurusAuction, 2024$44.6m
  3. As returnedValue in 2021$105m
  4. Basquiat, UntitledAuction, 2017$110.5m

Sold$125m

£95m. In 2026 dollars.

  • More than a Basquiat.
  • 4.3 hours of NHS England spending.

905,000 hours at the UK average escort rate of £105.

Lot 6

John Profumo

Secretary of State for War, 1963

Member of Parliament for Stratford. His affair with Christine Keeler began in 1961. In March 1963 he told the House of Commons there had been no impropriety. He resigned in June.

Estimate
No estimate

The lot is offered

No bids

Withdrawn

Hammer price: lost office. No hard figure.

Conditions of sale

How each lot was priced.

  1. Hammer prices are documented costs: settlements, sums returned, or market value lost. They are converted to 2026 US dollars using the US consumer price index.
  2. Where published figures disagree, the estimate shows the published range and the hammer price takes the best documented figure.
  3. Market value lost is measured from the close before the news to the close after it.
  4. Sterling equivalents use a rate of $1 to £0.76.
  5. GDP comparisons use IMF World Economic Outlook figures for 2024, in current US dollars.
  6. NHS England spending is the 2025/26 revenue budget of £192bn, divided by 365 days.
  7. The escort rate is the UK average hourly rate on Erobella, £105.
  8. Lots without a verifiable cost are withdrawn.