8. Jeff Koons – Popeye 2009-2011
One day Pop artist Jeff Koons decided to create a six and-a-half foot tall, three-dimensional polished sculpture of cartoon sailor ‘Popeye‘, and then Las Vegas casino owner Steve Wynn went on to purchase the work in 2014, for nearly $28.2million. Wynn was the only person to bid on the sculpture. Reasonable people might ask why anyone would pay $28 million for a 2,000-pound Popeye? Koons’ market value is probably reason. His orange “Balloon Dog” became the most expensive work sold by a living artist when it was auctioned for $58 million at Christie’s. The artist made only three versions of the six and-a-half foot tall muscle man. Megadealer Larry Gagosian owns one, and hedge funder Steve Cohen owns the other.