( CNN ) -- Jesse Owens ' 1936 gold medal sold for $ 1,466,574 at auction Sunday , setting a record for the highest price ever paid for Olympic memorabilia . New owner Ron Burkle , a billionaire investor and co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team , plans to use it for a future educational tour of historic pieces . This medal is considered one of the most important in Olympics history and is one of four Owens won at the 1936 games in Berlin , spoiling Adolf Hitler 's planned showcase of Aryan superiority . Imagine the shock to Nazi Party elites when a black American , the son of a sharecropper and a grandson of slaves , stared down fascist propaganda , bested his rivals and took home four gold medals . Documentary explores Jesse Owens ' life beyond victory . Hitler was furious , but tens of thousands of ordinary Germans cheered him on . Owens won the 100- and 200-meter sprints , the long jump and ran the opening leg for the winning 4x100-meter U.S. relay team . `` It leaves one nearly speechless to behold this medal . It survives as one of the world 's most poignant symbols of triumph , '' the vice president of SCP Auctions , Dan Imler , said in a statement . No one knows where the other three original medals are , the auction house said . Owens gave this medal to friend Bill `` Bojangles '' Robinson a few years after the Olympics , and the late entertainer 's widow , Elaine Plaines-Robinson , sold the medal , the auction house said . The forgotten godfathers of black American sport . Owens never cashed in on his Olympic glory . Instead of earning a living from his extraordinary athleticism , he ended up opening a dry cleaning business and occasionally raced against horses at the behest of promoters . `` People said it was degrading for an Olympic champion to run against a horse , but what was I supposed to do ? '' Owens once said , according to an ESPN.com article . `` I had four gold medals , but you ca n't eat four gold medals . '' Owens eventually made a good living in public relations and as a public speaker . He died in 1980 . Opinion : Haunting lesson of Nazi Olympics . CNN 's Steve Almasy contributed to this report .
Jesse Owens ' only remaining gold medal sells at auction for nearly $ 1.5 million . It 's the highest price ever paid for Olympic memorabilia . New owner Ron Burkle , co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins , plans to put in on tour . Comment: