Lemondrop

In our current economic crisis, certain industries continue to thrive: sex work, cheap crap, organ brokering and ... Leonard Cohen?

Tickets to Cohen's show at NYC's Beacon Theater, his first U.S. performance in 15 years, sold out Jan. 16 at prices ranging from $65 to $250. Over the next month, the tickets resold on StubHub.com for an average of $378, with the cheapest ones pulling $117 each.

The Rich Get RIch
At the average resale price of $378, even the most expensive tickets yielded a return of better than 50 percent.

In that same time period, say experts, stocks, including "safe bets" like GE, CocaCola, Caterpillar, McDonald's, Home Depot and Microsoft all tumbled -- GE by 21 percent.

By comparison, to have made a 50 percent return on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, you would have had to invest back in August. August of 1995, that is, back when Leonard Cohen was a mere 60 years old.

Click here for more details on the concert ... plus a CHART!

The average StubHub price cracked $500 on nine different days and $700 twice, with listings on Craigslist running in the same ballpark.



"For most events, prices tend to drop as you approach the event," said a StubHub spokesperson. "In this instance we are seeing the reverse dynamic, where the demand outweighs the supply, thus the average prices are higher."

The Deal Is Rotten?
Late-to-the-game investors can still cash in on the gift of Cohen's golden voice. Last week, the complete dates for Cohen's North American tour were announced. With some ticket presales starting Feb. 25, analysts say now is the ideal time to buy.

The only downside to putting your futures on "The Future"? Buying these tickets only to sell them makes you a ginormous jackass, since the sexy septuagenarian's three-hour show is a-may-zing.

In other Leonard Cohen news, you can click here to see him on an episode of "Miami Vice."

-- Additional reporting by Ben Morrison and my brother