The suit, that was worn by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meeting with US President Barack Obama, was sold to the highest bidder, Laljibhai Patel, a diamond baron and private airline owner based in Surat, Gujarat for an astounding Rs 4.31 crore.
Some of the highest bids at the auction were made by owners of the Diamond Aeronautics Company, which charters planes to fly within Gujarat and to Mumbai.
#ModiSuit sold at auction for Rs. 43,131,311 enters Guinness World Records for being the most expensive suit sold pic.twitter.com/K8eOnLIM0p
— ANI (@ANI_news) August 20, 2016
Laljibhai had then told the press that he was determined to buy the suit even if it exceeded Rs 5 crore. ‘The money does not matter,’ he had said. The base price of the suit at the auction was Rs 11 lakh.
Businessman Ramesh Virani, who lives abroad, had claimed that he gifted the suit to PM Modi on his son’s wedding, which coincided with Obama’s visit on January 26 last year.
The money received in the auction was to be used in the campaign to clean River Ganga. 800 other items received by PM Modi were also sold off in the auction.
