FTX survivor pays $1.5 million for gold watch recovered from Titanic

Patrick Gruhn, a German fintech entrepreneur and former executive at cryptocurrency exchange FTX, paid £1.175 million, equivalent to almost $1.5 million, last Saturday for the timepiece, the largest sum ever spent at auction on a piece of Titanic memorabilia.

The 14-karat watch belonged to American property magnate John Jacob Astor IV, who stayed aboard the doomed ship after placing his wife in a lifeboat.

Gruhn’s identity as the buyer, which has not been previously reported, was confirmed by the English auction house, Henry Aldridge & Son, a leading seller of items related to the disaster. Gruhn said he bought it as a gift for his wife, Maren Gruhn, and they would display the watch in museums.

“We want people in the US to be able to see and admire this historic relic,” said Gruhn, who used to run a crypto-focused law firm in Switzerland and is now based in Oregon.

Gruhn was head of FTX’s European business when it collapsed in late 2022 under founder Sam Bankman-Fried, later sentenced to 25 years in prison for fraud.

The FTX bankruptcy estate in February agreed to drop a lawsuit against Gruhn that had sought to claw back at least $323 million from Bankman-Fried’s purchase of the Swiss firm that became FTX Europe, alleging Bankman-Fried overpaid. As part of a settlement, Gruhn and other founders of the European unit agreed to buy back the European assets for about $33 million.

Gruhn said he had no knowledge of Bankman-Fried’s fraud until FTX imploded and he used money earned from the sale of his companies to buy the watch. Since leaving FTX, he has launched a new business to build a crypto derivatives exchange in Europe. He also runs a German Catholic TV network.

Gruhn, 42, said he felt connected to Astor because both their families left Germany to find fortune in the US Astor’s great-grandfather, born a butcher’s son in the German town of Walldorf, went on to dominate the American fur trade, before investing in cheap New York real estate.

Astor, who set up the original Waldorf Astoria hotel with a cousin, was the richest passenger aboard the Titanic when it embarked on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic. The 47-year-old and his pregnant wife Madeleine Astor were returning from a honeymoon in Europe.

After the ship hit an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, an officer in charge of a lifeboat told Astor he couldn’t join his wife until all women and children were safe. He stood back, lit a cigarette, and threw his gloves to Madeleine, who lived.

Astor was spotted smoking on the promenade deck with the author Jacques Futrelle as the Titanic descended into the freezing waters, Futrelle’s widow, May Futrelle, recounted.

May later saw Madeleine aboard a rescue ship. “I shall never forget her face. She was stained and white and wore an expression of utmost hopelessness, “May wrote in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A week after the sinking, the crew of a steam vessel found Astor’s body, still dressed in a blue serge suit, with a gold-buckled belt. A report produced that year listed his recovered possessions: “Gold watch, cuff links gold and diamond, diamond ring,” along with a “gold pencil.”

The watch, engraved with Astor’s initials, was restored and kept by his son, Vincent Astor. He later gave the watch to the son of his father’s personal secretary, whose family sold it in the 1990s to a private collector called John Miottel, according to the auction house. Miotel’s collection sold the watch in the auction last week.

“It’s still ticking,” said Andrew Aldridge, Henry Aldridge’s managing director.