Most of us probably have that one piece of clothing we can never throw away, like an old hoodie or a worn pair of sneakers. Letting go of a loved one’s belongings can feel even harder. On October 1, 2024, the family of Swedish DJ Avicii did just that. According to a press release from Stockholms Auktionsverk, the family donated 267 items to a charity auction. The total hammer price passed 7.7 million Swedish kronor, and the items were sold for the benefit of the Tim Bergling Foundation, which promotes young people’s mental health.
A packed hall and a very long night
The sale was called The Avicii Collection – A Charity Auction. It began at 3 p.m. local time before a full house. The event was run by Stockholms Auktionsverk, which claims to be the world’s oldest auction house. The 267 items included sneakers and clothing, musical instruments and other memorabilia from the career of Tim Bergling, the man behind the Avicii name. All items were donated by his family. The bidding lasted until 12:25 a.m. The hammer price, the total of the highest bid for each item, had then reached 7,732,805 kronor. Bids came in from over 40 countries. Every item sold, which let the auction house declare a “white glove sale,” a term it defines as an auction completed without any callbacks.
The guitars and caps that drew big bids
Two guitars were among the most desired items. A 2015 Fender Telecaster went for 240,000 kronor after intense telephone bidding. An acoustic guitar, a Martin Custom X Series, was even higher at 280,000 kronor. The smaller items also performed well. A pair of Sennheiser headphones fetched 80,000 kronor, a Pink Dolphin hat 70,000 kronor, and a New Era Miami Marlins hat 50,000 kronor.
A contact sheet of original portraits by photographer Mark Seliger sold for 165,000 kronor. One buyer, music producer Michael Cohen, also known as Tim Loren, traveled from Paris to attend the auction in person. He won a leather jacket from Bottega Veneta. Cohen said Avicii inspired him to become an artist and producer, and he planned to have the jacket framed.
What the money supports
The family founded the Tim Bergling Foundation in 2019. Tim Bergling died on April 20, 2018, at age 28. The foundation’s stated early focus was mental health and suicide prevention. After the sale, Stefan Rudels, the foundation’s acting director, said the foundation was very happy with the outcome. He added that “the funds these items have generated will help” them continue their work for young people’s mental health and well-being. The need is large. The World Health Organization’s fact sheet on adolescent mental health reports that about one in seven 10- to 19-year-olds worldwide has a mental health condition. The agency also points out that these conditions remain largely undiagnosed and untreated.
Why starting early matters
Timing matters because many conditions begin young. A 2022 analysis in Molecular Psychiatry by Marco Solmi and colleagues pooled data from 192 studies and 708,561 people. It found that of those who develop a mental disorder, 34.6 per cent had their first onset before age 14, 48.4 per cent before age 18 and 62.5 per cent before age 25. The peak age of onset was 14.5 years. The authors say the findings can help point to when prevention and early help should be provided.
The figures do not measure the foundation’s performance, but they do show a clear audience for youth-oriented work. Cecilia Gave, CEO of Stockholms Auktionsverk, said the collection also appealed to a younger crowd, and many in the hall were placing their very first auction bids. The items were sold without a reserve price or buyer’s commission, and the proceeds are donated in full to the foundation. A family’s keepsakes ended up supporting the age group these numbers describe.
