Bangladeshi-American fruit seller sold the famous $6.2m Banana for 25 cents. What did he get in return?

Shah Alam runs a little fruit stand outside of Sotheby's headquarters in New York. 

The 74-year-old currently sells bananas for 25 cents each.

His shop is also from where Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan bought his now famous banana for an artwork.

The artwork has gone on to fetch an eye-watering £5 million.

Shah Alam, however, doesn't expect any rewards. He didn't even know about the banana!

Hearing the price from a New York Times reporter, he instantly broke down.

"I am a poor man. I have never had this kind of money; I have never seen this kind of money," he said.

The banana was then duct-taped to a wall sold at auction for an eye-watering amount.

It should be noted the artist was not compensated for the Sotheby's sale, which was on behalf of a collector who has not been named, but told the NYT in an email that he was nonetheless thrilled by the price it commanded.

"Honestly, I feel fantastic," Mr. Cattelan wrote. "The auction has turned what began as a statement in Basel into an even more absurd global spectacle."

Not only the money, Alam's name hasn't been seen anywhere despite how viral the artwork has gone.

A widower from Dhaka, Alam was a civil servant before he moved to the United States in 2007 to be closer to one of his two children. 

He shares a basement apartment with five other men in the Bronx. 

His rent is $500 per month and his shifts are 12 hours long, four days a week.

All in all, he stands and works throughout the day, making $12 per hour for his troubles.

On the price of the artwork, he said, "Those who bought it, what kind of people are they? Do they not know what a banana is?"

"The reaction of the banana vendor moves me deeply, underscoring how art can resonate in unexpected and profound ways. However, art, by its nature, does not solve problems — if it did, it would be politics," Cattelan said in an email to the NYT.