Not exactly an Econ major, are ya? Did you go to school with AOC?
An item is worth what someone will pay for it. Plenty of people will pay a lot for that painting, just for the nameplate. Thus, it is worth a lot. The buyer bought low and will sell high, as any wise invest should. It is wealth creation, capitalism, and investing at there finest. Good for him.
(getting really tired of “auto-correct” changing my words to make my Grammar Nazi posts look highly hypocritical... obviously “wise investor” and “their”.)