Sotheby's Briefly the Most Valuable Company on Earth
- by Michael Stillman
Sotheby's closing chart for May 6 showed a high price of $100,000 per share.
By Michael Stillman
The venerable auction house of Sotheby's, which began its life as an auctioneer of books, has been a successful business for centuries. Of course, books now constitute a small part of what is offered, but Sotheby's remains a major force in the field. This past year, Sotheby's has been a particularly good to investors. Its stock price has tripled in the last year, from a low of $10 to $30+.
However, sometimes news is a bit too good to be true, even for a strong company such as Sotheby's. On May 6, the stock market went into a chaotic freefall. Almost a month later, no one really knows why. In a matter of minutes, the Dow Jones average dropped almost 1,000 points, only to regain most of its losses a few minutes later. Charts for several reputable companies showed their stocks trading temporarily for huge losses. Intraday trades at losses greater than 60% were cancelled. However, some substantial companies showed their stocks had dipped as low as a penny, though it's doubtful anyone would have made such a trade. Computerized trading can wreak havoc on orderly markets.
Less known is that a few stocks experienced the exact opposite on that strange day. Enter Sotheby's. The stock opened at $34.61, and dropped as low as $27.85 intraday. However, somewhere along the way, the stock price reached an astronomical high (click the thumbnail image above left to see its daily chart for May 6). At its high point, Sotheby's supposedly reached a price of $100,000 per share. $100,000? At that moment, it was the most valuable company on earth. It dwarfed giants like Microsoft, Google, even Exxon. Heck, its value dwarfed the value of all of the major oil companies combined. Its price would have valued the company at $6.7 trillion, a figure higher than any monetary amount save for the U.S. national debt.
Alas, when things are too good to be true, they are too good to be true. After reaching $100,000, a price it is hard to imagine anyone actually paid, the stock settled back to $33 per share at the day's close. Sotheby's investors who purchased a year ago will again have to be content with a return of 200%, rather than one million percent. Easy come, easy go.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
