RTL.de>regional news>
05. August 2021 – 17:21 clock
Ahrweiler / Cologne (dpa) – With an online auction of his old baseball cap, flood helper Markus Wipperfürth is a topic of conversation on the net. More than 133,000 euros were offered on Ebay until Thursday afternoon for the worn cap. An Ebay spokesman first confirmed that the bidder was serious. “He meant it seriously. We are in agreement with him.” The auction should end on Saturday morning. On Thursday afternoon, the corresponding website could no longer be accessed. An Ebay spokesman couldn’t say why. “We coordinate.”
The 48-year-old farmer from near Cologne has been working as a helper in the Ahrweiler region in Rhineland-Palatinate, which has been particularly hard hit by the flood for weeks. On Facebook, where Wipperfürth provides daily information about the situation in the crisis area and about his work, he now has more than 400,000 subscribers.
He doesn’t want to keep the money from the cap auction. “The proceeds will only benefit the flood victims in Ahrweiler,” he said on Thursday. “I don’t benefit from it in any way, I definitely don’t want to enrich myself.” Several media reported on the auction.
In his videos from the flood area, Wipperfürth had also criticized the role of the authorities and asked them to withdraw. That had earned him encouragement from the “lateral thinker” scene on social networks. Wipperfürth rejects any connection. “I have absolutely nothing to do with lateral thinkers. That is outrageous,” he said.
He did not expect such a great response to the online auction, according to the entrepreneur: “I thought that maybe 1500 euros would come together. I would never have thought that so much money would be offered.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210805-99-728285 / 3
Source: DPA
.
