Yes, Randy Pitchford from Gearbox has paid $25,000 for the pleasure of owning Penn Jillette's ponytail. Alright, so there's a bit more to it than that, but the rest doesn't make for an interesting headline.

Pitchford actually paid $25,000 to help crowdfund Penn Jillette's horror movie. His contribution qualifies him for an Executive Producer credit on the film and the "Big Spending Whales Get Our Ponytails" reward tier on the crowdfunding page.
"A lot of guys in my seat spend the money they make on Italian sports cars or big houses, and I think that's great if that drives the will to make things happen, but I seem to want to keep putting my extra scratch back into creative efforts.

"Every game we've shipped this generation has seen significant investment of Gearbox money beyond what our publishing partners have put in - for better or worse - but I can still afford to throw a little bit around here and there on things and people I think are cool and feel good about doing it. I didn't buy a new car or new house or anything like that, really, with the money I've made on Borderlands 2."

So, what happens to the ponytail itself?
"It's not about the pony tail and I haven't thought about what to do with it. But I'll chat with him about it and I'm sure between us we can come up with something clever that will amuse everyone who happens to be watching. Or maybe it just goes in a box. Or maybe it stays on his head."

(via Kotaku)