Napoleon’s hat was bought for 1.9 million Euro by South Korean chicken magnate

Did you think people’s fascination with their heroes knows no bounds? You were probably right. Neither does their capacity to spend money on, er… less than essential goods, so to speak, as Napoleon’s hat was bought for 1.9 million Euro by South Korean chicken magnate in Paris, this Sunday.

Mr. Kim Hong-Kuk, the 57-year-old South Korean mogul of the food industry claimed we has always been inspired by the strong, determined spirit of the French ruler. He claims having purchased the Napoleonic hat for the staggering price of 1,884,000 Euro was all in the name of… entrepreneurial spirit. Reawakening the ambition to be a great leader in modern entrepreneurs is the declared aim of the billionaire who started a poultry business while still a teen. His entreprise grew into one of the most famous and prosperous businesses: the giant Harim Group that deals with chicken and pork processing, animal medicine and feed and retail worth around 2 billion Euro a year in sales.

The hat in question is a trademark bicorne, one of the few left (only 19, to be accurate) headwear to be associated with Bonaparte. Being in competition with another Asian magnate bidder (from Japan), Mr. Kim actually purchased the artifact for five times the value it had been estimated at. But the winner of the bid doesn’t regret a cent.

Napoleon Bonaparte (15th of August 1769 – 5th of May 1821) is today regarded as one of the most charismatic and powerful characters in history, leading France on a path of glorious victories, turning it into a majestic empire and changing the face of Europe and the world in the process. Honestly speaking, few people can ever be expected to compete with such fame, but apparently many still turn him into their idol or at least travel to France to remember his name.