A Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton named Gus was sold at Sotheby's in New York on July 14, 2026 for 50.1 million dollars, taxes and auction fees included, becoming the most expensive fossil ever auctioned. The opening estimate ranged between 20 and 30 million dollars, with bids opening at 19 million, but the final price far exceeded all expectations. The auction lasted about ten minutes with seven bidders competing. The winner was an anonymous client connected by telephone through Cassandra Hatton, vice president of the Science and Natural History division at the auction house.

Gus was discovered in 2021 on a ranch in Harding County, South Dakota, within the Hell Creek Formation, one of the richest fossil-bearing areas in North America. Excavations were carried out over three seasons, from 2021 to 2023, by the Texas-based company Theropoda Expeditions, which then spent another two years cleaning and assembling the remains. The name comes from Gary Gus Licking, the landowner who together with his wife Dana owned the property where the skeleton was found. Gary Licking died in February 2022, while excavations were still in their early stages.

The skeleton, which lived approximately 67 million years ago, measures 11.5 meters in length and 3.8 meters in height, making it one of the largest specimens ever found. The skull, nearly one meter and forty centimeters long, is 82 percent complete and shows a bite mark as well as other combat-related injuries. The skeleton as a whole consists of 183 fossilized bones and is 61 percent complete, making it the third most complete T-Rex in the world after Sue, discovered in 1990 and 90 percent complete, and Stan, discovered in 1987 and 70 percent complete, both also found in South Dakota.

The scientific community had raised concerns before the final hammer. Paleontologist Filippo Bertozzo stated that the auction could lead to a significant scientific loss and expressed hope that the buyer would donate the fossil to a public institution, noting that scientific journals do not accept studies conducted on specimens not deposited in public institutions. Simone Maganuco, a collaborator at the Museum of Natural History of Milan, acknowledged the value of the work and investment needed to recover and prepare large fossils but warned of the risk that they might be removed from public study and enjoyment. The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology also requested that scientifically significant specimens like Gus be permanently entrusted to museums or research institutions, not merely loaned temporarily.

Gus is not the first dinosaur to make headlines for its auction price. The previous record belonged to Apex, a stegosaur sold by Sotheby's in 2024 for 44.6 million dollars and purchased by financier Ken Griffin, who later loaned it for four years to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. In 2020, the T-Rex Stan was sold by Christie's for 31.8 million dollars to the government of Abu Dhabi, destined for a local natural history museum. In 1997, Sotheby's sold Sue, then the most complete known T-Rex, for approximately 8.4 million dollars; the specimen was later acquired by the Field Museum of Chicago thanks to corporate and donor support. According to an analysis cited by Wired, T-Rex fossils held in private collections may now outnumber those conserved in public institutions.

For now, the fate of Gus remains in the hands of an anonymous buyer. The cases of Apex and Stan show that private ownership and public exhibition can coexist, but future availability of the specimen for studies and exhibitions always depends on the choices of its owner.