Like Jackson's jacket, buyer has a history

Q&A:What’s with the celebrity memorabilia market?

Is there actually money to be made in this racket? It's hard to say but Fraser's 100, an index that tracks the value of celebrity autographs, is up more than 300 per cent since its inception in 1997, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Who are the blue-chips when it comes to celebrity memorabilia? Marilyn Monroe, The Beatles, John F Kennedy and Michael Jackson always draw strong interest from buyers willing to throw thousands, if not millions, of dollars around.

What if I don't have that kind of money? Anna Nicole Smith, William Shatner and the Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash recently auctioned off items. Those events may be more in your price range.

This is getting ridiculous. It is. New York Yankees baseball star Derek Jeter is due to get his 3,000th hit in the next few weeks. There are plans to auction off the dirt that he is standing on at the time he reaches the milestone.

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One of the top celebrity news stories of the week has been the US$1.8 million (Dh6.6m) a collector paid in an auction on Sunday for the red and black jacket Michael Jackson wore in the Thriller video.

The buyer, a Texan by the name of Milton Verret, was described as a "wealthy commodities trader" and lauded for his plan to send the jacket on tour as part of an effort to raise money for children's charities.

It's a feel-good story that feels slightly less good when you learn more about how Mr Verret earned his millions.

He is the founder of US Money Reserve, a company that sells US Government-issued gold coins - seemingly a pretty good niche to occupy as the price of gold has almost tripled in the past five years.

But a St Louis consumer group, the Better Business Bureau, warned prospective buyers in March about the company's "bait-and-switch tactics" and Mr Verret's "history of legal problems."

The bureau said consumers drawn in by advertisements for gold bullion were being sold gold coins instead, even though evidence suggests the coins do not appreciate at the same rate as actual gold.

The coins are also sold at much higher prices than those offered by other coin dealers.

The bureau advised consumers to "be on the alert" when dealing with US Money Reserve.

In 1998, Mr Verret was prohibited from serving as director of a public company after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said he and other corporate insiders defrauded investors in a company that was created to produce a sequel to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The movie flopped, but only after Mr Verret and others cashed out their shares, according to SEC documents available online.

Mr Verret has been an active philanthropist in recent years, but not everyone who has done business with him is inclined to see him so generously.

Top 5: Top 5 other recent celebrity collectables sold at auction.

1 Marilyn Monroe's dress from The Seven-Year Itch – US$5.6 million.

2 Audrey Hepburn's dress from My Fair Lady - $4.5m.

3 Johnny Cash jumpsuit - $50,000.

4 Ringo Starr's jacket from Help! - $37,500.

5 Frank Sinatra's 1986 Jaguar - $19,000.

The Quote: Celebrity-worship and hero-worship should not be confused. Yet we confuse them every day. Daniel Boorstin, the late US social historian

breagan@thenational.ae