Albert Einstein, a notorious penny-pincher who wore shoes with holes in them and refused to pay for a barber, ended up giving one of the biggest tips ever to a Japanese bellhop—although it took 95 years for the bellhop's family to collect.
A piece of hotel stationery with Einstein’s "theory of happiness" written on it in his handwriting was sold by the Winner’s Auctions and Exhibitions in Jerusalem for $1.56 million on Tuesday, according to the auction house.
The story behind the note goes like this: In October 1922, Einstein was staying at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo to give a series of lectures. On his way to Japan from Europe, he had been informed by telegram that he had won the Nobel Prize for his General Theory of Relativity—the theory that revolutionized the way humankind perceives time and space.
The news of the Nobel Prize winner's arrival in Japan spread quickly, and when he arrived he found himself being welcomed by thousands of people flocking to see him. According to the auction house, Einstein was impressed but also a little embarrassed by the publicity he received and while he was staying at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, he tried to record his thoughts and feelings on paper.
When a messenger came to his room to deliver something, Einstein did not have any money with him for a tip so he decided to make the most of his new exalted status and gave him notes on his theory about the key to happiness, the auction house says. When he gave the messenger the notes, Einstein told him to keep them, because their future value might exceed any ordinary tip—another one of the genius's theories that turned out to be true.
The note, written in German, says, “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.” It is written on a piece of stationery from the Imperial Hotel.
Einstein also gave the bellhop a second note, also on hotel stationery, that says, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” This note, with its more conventional words of wisdom, sold seperately in the auction for $240,000.
Both notes sold for far more than the auctioneer predicted.
The opening bid for the longer note was $2,000 and the estimated value had been set at $5,000 to $8,000. The value of the shorter note was set between $4,000 and $6,000, with bids starting at $1,000.
The notes were put up for auction by the grandson of a brother of the bellhop, according to the New York Times.
