Gwyneth, Shaq, Paris, Eminem — A Deep Dive Into the NFT Collecting Habits of the Rich and Famous

Over the last year, celebrities have been dabbling in non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles and a few of their purchases have brought them attention. For instance, a number of socialites, luminaries, big-name personalities, and today’s top brass have purchased NFTs from the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection. While they paid a pretty penny in ethereum for the BAYC NFTs, many celebrities have deep pockets when it comes to other NFT collections as well.

A whole bunch of famous people own non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the trend has picked up a great deal during the last 12 months. A lot of times, celebrities share their NFT purchases on social media when it comes to significant acquisitions like expensive Bored Ape (BAYC) NFTs.

Records show a few dozen well known public figures own BAYC NFTs, as the collectibles have become a status symbol of sorts. Stars like the NBA’s Stephen Curry, Shark Tank’s Mark Cuban, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, comedian Jimmy Fallon, and rap star Snoop Dogg are all BAYC or MAYC owners. In addition to the BAYC NFTs, celebrities are also collecting a number of NFTs from other collections and many luminaries have vast quantities of NFTs.

Marshall Mathers III, professionally known as Eminem is a hip-hop star and an avid NFT collector. At the end of April 2021, Eminem launched his first NFTs, which were beat-inspired animated digital collectibles made for fans. In August, with his friend and CEO of Goliath Records, Paul Rosenberg, Eminem participated in the Makersplace Series A funding round. Then in January 2022, Eminem purchased Bored Ape Yacht Club #9055 for $452K. Since then, the American hip-hop star has bought a whole lot more NFTs and he still owns BAYC #9055.

Records show Eminem has 4,064 NFTs from 134 collections and he’s a big fan of BAYC, Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC), Clonex, Doodles, Kongz, World of Women (WoW), and a Gucci Grail Mint Pass NFT. Eminem owns MAYC #922 worth $45K, Clonex #10644 valued at $29K, and Clonex #17146 worth $29K as well. Slim Shady has a lot of ethereum (ETH) in his wallet as well and at the time of writing, he holds 152.41 ether worth around $395K. On Wednesday, December 29, 2021, Eminem’s wallet had around 0.1722 ether but on Friday, January 28, 2022, he accumulated a hefty sum of 387.43 ethereum (ETH).

The basketball legend and sports analyst for Inside the NBA, Shaquille O’Neal, commonly referred to as Shaq, is also a big NFT collector. Data shows Shaq’s most valuable NFT, in terms of estimated price value, is Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) #14452 worth $44.1K but he also owns Creature #9018 worth $5.2K, and many other digital collectibles.

At the time of writing, Shaq’s wallet holds 890 NFTs from 90 different collections. Currently, Shaq doesn’t keep as much ethereum in his wallet as Eminem, as his wallet only holds 0.5928 ether worth $1,537, using today’s ETH exchange rates. A number of people have sent Shaq ERC20 tokens of all types and unique names as well.

The media personality, socialite, and entrepreneur, Paris Hilton has been a fan of digital currencies for quite some time. Hilton is also a huge fan of NFTs and the metaverse and she’s got a significantly sized collection of NFTs today. Statistics show Hilton has 1,699 NFTs from 118 collections. Hilton’s most valuable NFT, in terms of estimated price value, is Bored Ape Yacht Club #1294 worth $211K.

The businesswoman and model is also a fan of her own NFTs, and other collections like Clonex, Machine Hallucinations, and a Gucci Grail Mint Pass. Hilton also keeps a low amount of ethereum in her wallet, as she currently holds 0.1119 ether worth $290. Although, the wallet holding all her NFTs has around 1.8 wrapped ether (WETH) and $53.6K worth of origin protocol (OGN).

The American actress and businesswoman Gwyneth Paltrow has been into bitcoin for years and these days she is all about non-fungible token (NFT) collectibles. Currently, Paltrow’s wallet holds 82 NFTs from 12 different collections.

Her most valuable, in terms of estimated price value, is a BAYC NFT (#6141) worth $223K. But Paltrow is also a fan of World of Women (WoW) NFTs and the popular Gucci Grail Mint Pass. Paltrow has a myriad of WoW NFTs such as Woman #7743, #7742, and #7812. Furthermore, Paltrow’s wallet only holds 0.477 ETH worth $1,236 using current exchange rates.

Celebrities buying expensive art has been a trend for a long time, but unlike a private art sale, blockchains open up a whole different perspective. Blockchains show their whole collections and an assortment of other data that may have gone unnoticed in a traditional or private setting. The trend of famous people purchasing NFTs doesn’t seem like its going to slow down any time soon and the fact that everyone can see their shiny digital collectibles probably pleases them.

What do you think about celebrities and their fascination for NFTs like Bored Apes and many other collections? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.