Michael Jackson’s Rhinestone Sock Sells for Over $8K in France

Even after his death, Michael Jackson still knows how to make headlines. This time, with one lonely, glittery sock.

A white athletic sock, decked out in rhinestones and apparently worn by Jackson during his 1997 “HIStory World Tour,” was auctioned off on Wednesday in France for €7,688 (about $8,822), according to French auctioneer Aurore Illy.

The pop icon wore the sock during a concert in the southern city of Nîmes. It was later discovered near his dressing room by a technician after the show, and somehow, the sparkly artifact survived nearly three decades to be sold off as a collector’s dream.

“It really is an exceptional object – even a cult one for Michael Jackson fans,” Illy told AFP.

Though the sock isn’t exactly pristine, it’s stained and its rhinestones have yellowed with age. It was still seen as a treasured piece of music history. Auction organizers described it as a “cult object.”

The original estimated price for the sock was between €3,000 and €4,000 (around $3,400–$4,500), but bidding quickly beat expectations. The sock was featured alongside other music memorabilia, according to Interencheres, a website specializing in auctions.

And it’s not the first time MJ’s stagewear has fetched big bucks. In 2009, a Macau gaming resort shelled out $350,000 for the legendary glove Jackson wore during his first-ever televised moonwalk in 1983. In 2023, a hat he tossed before that same moonwalk performance went for more than $80,000 in Paris.

Michael Jackson passed away in 2009 at the age of 50 due to a fatal overdose. Despite decades of controversy, including allegations of child molestation, which he and his estate have consistently denied, Jackson remains a beloved and globally recognized figure, with fans still eager to grab even his most unexpected souvenirs.

So yes, just one sock, a little dirty and very sparkly, is now worth nearly nine grand. Only Michael Jackson could make that seem perfectly normal.