Russell Crowe Bought a Dinosaur Skull from Leonardo DiCaprio and Sold it at An Auction for Double the Price!

Have you received a package in the mail or by courier that you cannot even remember buying? But when memories of that hazy night, returns to you, what started off as an innocent night boozing with friends, ends up with you coming home very drunk and liberally buying any and every item on Amazon. That probably explains the splurge for the Nicolas Cage pillowcase in the package!

 A Dino Head for His Kids

Relax as we are not the only ones falling victims to impulse buying after having over-imbibed on high spirits! Celebrities too fall in that trap as they are also humans; they may be filthy rich, but are definitely still humans. The only difference could possibly be that the impulsive purchases are higher than a few hundred bucks. They might not order many weird kitchen gadgets or customized shirts with their ex’s face imprinted; rather, they end up buying $35,000 presents for their kids. This may be a strange but a very specific example and a real tale of Russell Crowe that was mentioned on a TV interview.

On a vodka-infused night in 2008, Russel showed up at fellow actor Leanardo’s home for a round of drinks, and walked out with his purse lighter by $35,000. While roaming around the host actor’s beautiful home and living room, Crowe’s eyes found a huge dinosaur skull hanging there. When the thespian asked about the artifact and started showing his interest in it, DiCaprio agreed to sell it for $35,000, or basically what he paid for the skull. Russell accepted the offer as the 55-year-old actor bought it for his kids who then adored dinosaurs. He admitted not inquiring what type of dinosaur it was, as it would be a neat addition for the children’s playroom.

Komodo Dragon’s Ancient Cousins

Actually the valuable skull, identified by Sotheby’s at the actor’s divorce auction, belonged to a Mosasaur, the largest marine reptile that ever lived. The now-extinct Mosasaurs existed during the late Cretaceous period 65 million years ago, reigning as very successful predators in the existing food chain. With their snake-like skulls and double-hinged jaws, they were capable of devouring their prey in just one fatal bite. They were also distantly related to the monitor lizard family and the Komodo dragon remains as one of their most famous cousins. In 1776, the first fossil of this Cretaceous superstar, was discovered in Maastricht, Holland.

Double the Price

The ridiculously high priced skull was later sold by Crowe in Sotheby’s Australia auction, along with other items, specifically for funding the actor’s messy divorce from his now ex-wife Danielle Spencer, an Australian actress who he was married to for 15 years. The auction aptly called ‘Russell Crowe: The Art of Divorce,’ included over 200 items, some being props used in the actor’s famous films. While the “Robin Hood” star paid Leo $ 35,000 for the skull, the auction could sell the ancient dinosaur head for a jaw-dropping $65,000, turning a flaky buying decision into a massive investment. The auction sale of all items, including this precious item, earned $3.7 million for the estranged couple.

A classic example showing how celebrities are just like us when it comes to impulse buying decisions but with more fans and much more money to waste.