Betty White Auction Brings In $4 Million, Overshoots Predictions

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Heading into an auction of over 1,600 items from Betty White's life and career, Julien's Auctions Executive Director Martin J. Nolan knew the "Betty White factor" would draw up the evaluated price of her belongings.

The "Betty White factor" would drive prices up far past their determined value, Nolan predicted. It turns out the Betty White factor is over $70,000.

The auction, which ran from Friday to Sunday in Beverly Hills and online, brought in over $4,000,000, over double what Nolan had expected. Every item was sold, according to Julien's Auctions.

The most expensive purchase was Betty White's director's chair from "The Golden Girls," which sold for $76,800. The chair was originally valued between $1,000 and $2,000, according to Julien's Auctions' website.

"You would be hard-pressed to find an individual as iconic and well-loved as Betty White, whose impact is absolutely multi-generational," Nolan said in a news release. "This auction represented a collection unlike anything we have ever seen before which brought in record-breaking results and thousands of Betty's most loyal fans from all over the world who participated."

Many other items flew way over their expected value. Sets of signed scripts for the pilot and final episodes of "The Golden Girls" initially estimated to be worth between $500 and $700 sold for $57,600 and $51,200.

A lavender dress that White wore in 1986 on "The Golden Girls" sold for $32,000 — its estimated value was between $600-$800.

White's gold and diamond wedding ring, which she wore during her marriage to Allen Ludden, sold for $25,600. The ring was originally valued between $800-$1,200.

The auction included clothing, scripts, art, furniture, jewelry and even the front door to White's Brentwood house — which sold for $10,000.

Curators spent three weeks picking through White's Brentwood home and attempting to put together a display that would capture White's personality, accomplishments and legacy, Nolan said. Attendees should leave feeling like they spent time in White's house — even a visitor who had never heard of White would get an idea of who she was, Nolan said.

"What it does is tell the story, keeps her memory alive — this is her legacy," Nolan said. "We wanted to show her love of animals. We wanted to show her own nostalgia by including items that she had and she collected with her husband Allen. [We also included] items from her parents — her mother's artwork, a watch that was gifted to her from her mother in 1940."