A country ham has fetched a record-breaking $1.6 million in a charity auction last week in Lexington, Kentucky.
The winning bid, which comes out to $100,000 a pound, was placed by two Louisville businessmen – Bernard Trager, chairman of Republic Bank and Trust, and Dr. Mark Lynn, of Dr. Mark Lynn & Associates and owner of Dr. Bizer’s Vision World. Each contributed $800,000 to the purchase of the meat produced by Broadbent B&B Foods of Kuttawa at the 47th annual Kentucky Farm Bureau Country Ham Breakfast.
Bids on the ham go to a charity of the bidder’s choosing. Dr. Mark Lynn & Associates indicated it plans to donate its bid to the University of Louisville, Visually Impaired Preschool Services and Eastern Area Community Ministries. Republic Bank and Trust did not specify the recipients of its donation, but said most would go to local healthcare and education, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
The ham auction takes place each year at the end of the summer. It has humble beginnings – in 1964, $124 won the very first country ham to be auctioned off – but it has grown exponentially in recent years. Over the last decade, the average price of the auctioned ham has increased to a respectable $462,048.
Although no official fundraising goal is set, the event has raised more than $5.6 million for local charities and educational and philanthropic groups over its nearly half-century-long history.
The $1.6 million price tag for the 16 lb. porker – whose meat will also go to charity – shattered a previous charitable-food record. In 2007, billionaire Stanley Ho paid $330,000 for a 3.3-pound white truffle, proceeds from which went to nonprofits including the Consortium for Street Children in the UK, the Telethon in Italy and Caritas in China, according to Tonic.com.