Dorothy's iconic ruby slippers from 'The Wizard of Oz' sells for record-breaking R500 million

The iconic 'no place like home' ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore as Dorothy in the 1939 production of “The Wizard of Oz” were sold for a record-breaking R504,224,000 ($28 million) on Saturday during a live auction in Dallas in the latest turn for one of the most recognisable and storied artifacts in film history.

Heritage Auctions had estimated that they would fetch $3 million or more, but the fast-paced bidding far outpaced that amount within seconds and tripled it within minutes.

A few bidders making offers by phone volleyed back and forth for 15 minutes as the price climbed to the final, eye-popping sum, say reports.

Including the Dallas-based auction house’s fee, the unknown buyer will ultimately pay $32.5 million.

Online bidding, which opened last month, had stood at $1.55 million before live bidding began late Saturday afternoon.

The sparkly red heels were on display at the Judy Garland Museum in the actor’s hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, in 2005 when Terry Jon Martin used a hammer to smash the glass of the museum’s door and display case to steal the slippers.

Their whereabouts remained a mystery until the FBI recovered them in 2018.

Martin, now 77, who lives near Grand Rapids in northern Minnesota, wasn’t publicly exposed as the thief until he was indicted in May 2023. He pleaded guilty in October 2023. Martin thought the museum slippers on display were made of real rubies but they were made of glass, reports confirm.