David Gooding

David Gooding is the President and Founder of California-based Gooding & Company, the auction house acclaimed for selling the world’s most significant and valuable collector cars. In addition to its three annual world-class automotive auctions, Gooding & Company offers a wide range of services, including private and estate sales, appraisals, and collection management.

The official auction house of the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®, Gooding & Company has hosted seventeen years of record-setting auctions unparalleled in quality and distinction. With a 2022 year-to-date sales total of over $212 million, the company achieved a 87% sell-through rate with 597 lots sold. The company’s auctions have become the premier destination for enthusiasts and serious collectors worldwide.

Since its inception, Gooding & Company has consistently presented automobiles from the world’s finest collections, including consignments from the estates of Jerry Seinfeld, Donald L. Weber, Otis Chandler, Jan Koum, James G. Hascall, Neil Peart, and Greg Garrison, as well as significant cars from the Mullin Automotive Museum and Tony Shooshani collections, among many others.

Over the years, Gooding & Company has auctioned more than $32 million in collector cars consigned to benefit charity. Highlights include a 2015 McLaren P1 sold in 2017 to endow a chair at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, a 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic sold to benefit St. Jude Children’s Hospital in 2013, Jay Leno’s personal 2012 Fiat 500 Prima Edizione offered to raise money for Fisher House Foundation, and Sheryl Crow’s 1959 Mercedes-Benz 190 SL presented in support of the Joplin Schools Recovery Fund.

David Gooding began his career with Christie’s International Motor Car Department, where he was responsible for the auction at Pebble Beach. During his 11 influential years at Christie’s, Pebble Beach became the premier car auction worldwide. Gooding was then promoted to managing director of the department, responsible for automotive auctions and staff globally. He also served as president of RM Auctions Inc. for three years. Since the founding of Gooding & Company, David Gooding and his team have built the auction house and private brokerage into a successful full-service collector car enterprise that also specializes in private treaty and estate sales.

Throughout his career, Mr. Gooding has established a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable authorities on classic cars. He advises the world’s top collections, has served as a chief class judge of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance® Preservation Class, and has appraised thousands of vehicles for sale at auction, by private treaty, and for charitable donation. His core philosophy as a collector and champion of the collector car both promotes and affirms the inclusion of noteworthy automobiles within the ranks of fine art.