Turns out bulletproof glass doesn't add much resale value. A Mercedes-Benz Maybach S650 once owned by disgraced ex-billionaire Miles Guo just sold at bankruptcy auction for $63,000, roughly a third of the $192,000 he paid for it back in 2018.
The winning bid came from the 115th bidder in an online auction, capping off what can only be described as an absurdly complicated liquidation process. Guo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022 and is currently locked up awaiting sentencing for running a $1.3 billion fraud and racketeering-conspiracy scheme.
Getting this car to auction was its own saga. According to Business Insider, it took four years and a small army of lawyers, bankruptcy judges, appraisers, and auctioneers just to make it happen. The vehicle was initially buried as an asset of a Hong Kong shell company, registered under Guo's son's name and briefly his chauffeur's.
After Guo's arrest, authorities found the Mercedes abandoned in a New Jersey tow lot. It eventually landed at the Hamilton Group's yard in Clinton, Connecticut, where it sat waiting for auction. Despite offering public viewings, not a single person showed up to kick the tires.
The online auction told a different story, though. Bidding was active enough that the winning $63,000 offer came in during the final five minutes. Interestingly, that price matches the Kelley Blue Book value for a standard 2018 Maybach S650, meaning the custom armor plating and bulletproof glass apparently added zero dollars to the sale price.
The proceeds will go toward Guo's estimated half-billion dollars in bankruptcy debts. It's a small dent, but it proves that even messy bankruptcy cases can eventually liquidate assets and get creditors something back.
