Ringo Starr made a ton of money on stuff that's just been lying around his property, including his first ever drum kit, which he sold to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay for $1.7 million. Starr also sold his copy of The Beatles' White Album for a record breaking $790,000 to an anonymous buyer.
Starr and his wife, Barbara Bach, have been putting the items up for sale at Julien's auction and are making a killing.
Irsay is a long time rock collector. Billboard reports that he owns more than 30 guitars used by famous musicians such as Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Jerry Garcia. This drum kit is special to him because it completes his Beatles set of instruments, as he already owns guitars from three of the other Beatles -- Paul McCartney, the late George Harrison and John Lennon.
"Finally, after 45 years, the Beatles are together again," Irsay said in a text message to the Associated Press.
That purchase makes sense, we hear a lot about old, rich sports team owners buying up expensive stuff, but who would pay more than three quarters of $1 million for a copy of The White Album?
It must be because it's a very special vinyl as it's the first ever to be pressed with # 0000001 printed right on it. It was revealed recently that The Beatles all got the first four pressings of the album and Starr just happened to snag the first ever. He's been keeping it in a London vault for 35 years and it's in near mint minus condition with a minor abrasion in the upper right front gatefold corner.
Billboard reports that this album is particularly enticing because it's the mono version of the record, which contains slight variations on the regularly available stereo version. Those differences include a sped up version of Starr's "Don't Pass Me By" as well as a noticeably shorter version of "Helter Skelter."
