Over the years, Miles Nadal has amassed almost 1,000 pairs of shoes and more than 160 automobiles
Sneakerheads and auto aficionados alike will be drooling over this treasure trove.
Canadian financier Miles Nadal is auctioning off his vast collection of shoes, cars, and automobiles this spring, with the entire selection estimated to bring in a whopping US$62 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. For years, he has displayed the items at a Canadian museum, but he’s finally ready to part with the majority of his goods.
“I want someone to take care of all of this,” Nadal told the WSJ. “I don’t want to have to think much about it.”
Among the items being sold by RM Sotheby’s this June are 500 pairs of Air Jordans, including some from the ’80s; two pairs of rare Nike Air Mags; and shoes signed by the likes of Tom Brady, Joel Embiid, and Steph Curry. The automobiles, meanwhile, span 144 cars and motorcycles, including an electric vehicle from 1913 and various Ferraris, McLarens, and Lamborghinis.
While Nadal has been collecting cars for several years, with more than 160 in his possession, he entered the shoe game more recently. Five years ago, he put down US$850,000 for 99 rare kicks being offered in Sotheby’s first sneaker auction. Just days after that transaction, he paid US$437,500 for Nike’s Moon Shoes, making them the most expensive single pair of sneakers sold at the time.
“I knew a fair bit about the sneaker world, but I didn’t really know about it as a collector at all,” Nadal said. Shoes “would be a fun thing, a great complement to the rest of our collections,” he continued.
Since then, he has amassed almost 1,000 sneakers, enlisting the help of the YouTuber Sean Go to guide his investing. A few favourites include royal-blue Air Jordan 1s, some of which will be up for sale in the Sotheby’s auction, and signed Air Jordan 1s from Michael Jordan’s rookie season. (Jordan’s footwear tends to command high prices at auction, with a recent set hammering down for a record-breaking US$8 million.) Most of Nadal’s sneakers are collectibles, with the businessman opting to wear Brunello Cucinelli kicks in his day-to-day.
While he’d love to see his entire collection bought by the same person, similar to what he did with those initial 99 sneakers, Nadal knows that’s not too likely to happen. But given the status of the items he’s giving up, the buyers may at least have the same mindset about collecting that he has developed.
“I’m not in the business of collecting,” Nadal said. “I’m in the passion of collecting.”
This story was first published on Robb Report USA