Aubrey McClendon always had an eye for a good investment.
The wine collection of the late Chesapeake founder and former CEO, who died in a single-car accident in March, was auctioned off by Chicago-based wine vendor Hart Davis Hart for $8.44 million in mid-September, Fortune recently reported.
More than 10 times the average number of Oklahoma bidders took part in the auction, which exceeded expectations, Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. president Ben Nelson told The Wall Street Journal. Hart Davis Hart Wine Co. ran the auction.
A pre-sale estimate valued the collection between $5.1 and $7.7 million, reported The Wall Street Journal.
Almost 1,000 bidders from 17 countries on four continents participated in the event, which liquidated more than 4,600 bottles of wine, according to Chicago Tribune. Strong demand drove bidders to pay above the estimated high price on almost 80 percent of the lots.
The most expensive item was a case of 1989 Château Pétrus, which sold for $65,725, well above its estimated $35,000-$55,000 value.
This article appears in Oct 5-11, 2016.