Billionaire returns auctioned Grease jacket to Olivia Newton-John

The buyer of the leather jacket worn by Olivia Newton-John in the movie “Grease” has returned it to the actress after winning it at auction with a $243,000 bid. The money will remain donated to the actress’s cancer center.

The billionaire wished to remain anonymous but was confirmed to be a physician and media tech entrepreneur by Julien’s Auctions, which organized the original auction. 

He bought the jacket at auction last month but almost immediately gifted it back to the actress who played “Sandy” in the smash hit film. It will now be put on permanent display at the Olivia Newton-John Wellness and Research Center in Melbourne, Australia.

“The odds of beating a recurring cancer using the newest emergent therapies is 1,000 fold greater than someone appearing out of the blue and buying your most famous and cherished icon and returning it to you,” said the buyer when presenting Newton with the jacket in a video, in which his face was blurred out.

The buyer said the jacket deserved to be returned to its “rightful owner” and “not sit a in billionaire’s closet for country-club bragging rights.”

“Godspeed for a quick recovery, should you ever need medical advice or support from a trusted doctor I will be there,” he said to Newton-John, who recently spoke about battling stage four breast cancer, having been diagnosed with the disease for the third time.

Newton-John, 71, who was first diagnosed in 1992 and opened her treatment center in 2012, said in the video she was “blown away” by the buyer’s generosity.

She auctioned off her iconic outfit from 1978 hit musical film Grease at an auction in Beverly Hills in November.

The black leggings, which Newton-John famously had to be sown into during filming, were bought by the founder of shapewear brand Spanx, Sara Blakely, for $162,000. 

The entire outfit raised more than $400,000 at auction. Newton-John sold more than 500 personal items and memorabilia at the two-day event.