"I'll buy you 100,000 bananas."

Photo Source: Yonhap News

A banana taped to the wall, a businessman who won $6.2 million (about 8.67 billion won) for Maurizio Cattelan's installation art "Comedian" announced that he would buy 100,000 bananas from a fruit vendor who sold them.

The banana used in the work, which was auctioned off at Sotheby's on the 20th, became a hot topic when it was reported that it was purchased for 25 cents (350 won) at a street vendor right in front of it.

Justin Sun, a Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur who won the prize, posted on X today that he would buy 100,000 bananas from a street vendor as a thank you.

He also said that the stall will distribute bananas for free, adding that anyone should present their ID and take one banana while they are in stock.

However, such a proposal conflicts with the harsh reality experienced by street vendors in New York City, the New York Times noted.

Shah Alam, 74, who works for the street vendor, said securing 100,000 bananas at the wholesale market in the Bronx is expensive, and it's not easy to transport them in a box of 100.

Even if you sell all 100,000 bananas, the profit is about $6,000 (8.4 million won), but you can't even have them all because you are not a street vendor owner.Mr. Shah Alam
works 12-hour shifts a day at a street vendor for $12 (W17,000) an hour.

In a call with The New York Times, Mohammad Islam, a street vendor, said he would share it with seven employees working at two of his stalls if they made a profit, but added that he had not yet received an offer to buy him 100,000 bananas.

Mr. Islam's brother, who also works at a stall, said he welcomed the bulk purchase, but it did not change the daily routine of the stall and the stark gap between the $6.2 million banana and the vendor who sold it for 25 cents.