Millionaire who bought banana for $6 million offers to buy 100,000 bananas from New York vendor

The millionaire was moved to hear the story of the 74-year-old migrant who runs a street stall and who sold the banana that artist Maurizio Cattelan used for his piece at the Sothebys auction for 25 cents.

The piece by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan was auctioned for $6.2 million. (Peter PARKS / AFP)

Chinese businessman Justin Sun, founder of the cryptocurrency platform Tron, announced his intention to buy 100,000 bananas from street vendor Shah Alam, a 74-year-old Bangladeshi immigrant who works on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The initiative comes just days after Sun acquired the work Comedian, by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, at a Sothebys auction for $6.2 million.

The conceptual art piece, which consisted of a simple banana taped to a wall, has sparked a debate about art market values, inequality and the human stories behind the most common objects.

Sun, whose fortune is valued at at least $1.4 billion, made his proposal public on social media,To thank Mr. Shah Alam, I have decided to buy 100,000 bananas from his stand on the Upper East Side of New York. These bananas will be distributed for free around the world through his stand, he wrote on X (formerly

Banana