This billionaire paid $6,240,000 for a banana.
Then he ate it on camera and called it "much tastier than other bananas."
But that wasn't even his most expensive publicity stunt.
Here's how Justin Sun turned outrageous stunts into the ultimate business model: 🧵
Meet Justin Sun.
34 years old. Born in Qinghai province, a remote region in China's northwest.
Today, he's worth $8.5 billion and calls himself "His Excellency" on social media.
How did a kid from rural China become crypto's most notorious showman?
Sun's rise started at China's most prestigious university.
At Peking University, he studied history while most of his classmates focused on traditional careers.
He then moved to the University of Pennsylvania to study political economy:
In 2013, Sun launched Peiwo, an audio live-streaming app.
The app matched users based on interests and voice samples.
Sun soon landed on Forbes' "30 under 30" list for tech entrepreneurs in Asia.
But audio streaming was just the beginning:
Sun then enrolled at Hupan University, launched by Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
He wrote a thesis titled "The Birth of the Decentralized internet" on the history of blockchain.
This positioned him perfectly for what came next:
In 2017, Sun founded Tron.
Today, Tron has a market capitalization of $26 billion according to CoinMarketCap.
This success made Sun one of crypto's wealthiest founders.
But here's where Sun gets interesting:
While other crypto billionaires buy yachts and Lambos, Sun buys attention.
$6.24 million for a banana duct-taped to a wall. Then he ate it.
"It's much tastier than other bananas," he said...
He then paid $4.6 million for a charity lunch with Warren Buffett.
Then canceled at the last minute.
After the lunch cancellation, Sun apologized on Weibo for his "excessive self-promotion," spurring speculation he was in trouble with Chinese authorities...
He bought a $28 million seat on Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin spaceflight.
Canceled that too, reportedly concerned about coming to the United States while under SEC scrutiny.
But he did become Grenada's ambassador to the World Trade Organization:
In 2023, the SEC charged Justin Sun with fraud and market manipulation—serious allegations with prison-level stakes.
After Trump’s election, Sun invested $75M in a Trump-linked crypto project.
A bold pivot just as the political winds began to shift:
Soon after, Sun attended Trump’s black-tie crypto dinner in Virginia.
When Trump walked in, Sun whooped.
He later said he was “awarded” a $100K Trump Tourbillon watch.
From SEC heat to presidential galas—Sun’s gamble on the new crypto order is hard to ignore...
Simply put, Sun cracked a simple code.
In our attention economy, whoever gets talked about most wins.
Whether it's a $6 million banana or $100 million Trump bet.
The medium changes. The message stays: "Look at me."
And it works every time.
Video/ Image credits:
• Image:
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• 📍Virginia | Honored to Join #TrumpMeme Night & Meet President Trump 🇺🇸 -
• Justin Sun on Hong Kong and Web3 -
• Justin & TRON Blockchain _1 -
• Infamous duct-taped banana eaten by crypto entrepreneur
• Ripple buys Swiss startup, and Justin Sun addresses SEC charges against him: CNBC Crypto World
• Lunch with Warren Buffett - A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience
• Chinese Billionaire Justin Sun Tops $TRUMP Dinner Guestlist
• Only 4 Left 👀 | Trump Golden Tourbillon Watch Links 🕰️
