On a Monday in late June, after the Art Basel fair in Basel, Switzerland, the billionaire collector Dakis Joannou docked his yacht in the small harbor of the Greek isle of Hydra. The yacht’s exterior is covered in a kaleidoscopic pattern that was designed by Jeff Koons, and it is called Guilty. That night, I
Is the old adage “practice what you preach” not applicable to the art world? Recent legal proceedings highlight how apparently difficult it can be even for those steeped in the art market to consistently follow that advice. A prominent New York dealer who has served as an expert witness in lawsuits concerning art deals gone
Two fraudulent art investment companies in the UK that raked in more than $1.3 million from unsuspecting investors have been shut down. Authorities will now oversee the re-distribution of assets to, hopefully, some of those who were duped. Gem Tobin Ltd, based in Cheshire, and Dinonysus Design Services Ltd., in York, were turned over to
A blue-chip art dealer with galleries in London and Miami is facing a worldwide freeze on his assets amid allegations that he defrauded an investor in a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting by inflating its price by about $6 million. Inigo Philbrick, 32, was accused in an Oct. 30 filing in London’s High Court of misleading Satfinance
Best known as the founder of the investment firm Citadel, hedge fund billionaire and philanthropist Kenneth C. Griffin first got his start in the world of high finance as an undergraduate at Harvard, where he installed a satellite dish on the roof of his dorm to trade stocks in real-time and launched his first firm
Speaking at an impromptu press conference held in Hong Kong on Friday, the fugitive property tycoon, stock market investor and mega collector Joseph Lau dismissed speculation about his health and financial troubles. Saying he came out to defend his wife, Kimbee Chan Hoi-wan, after rumors were published alleging that she had lost him more than
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Which stage of a bubble is this? The above chart is in the supporting bumf around a much-delayed plan to float a painting. Lichtenstein-based Artex will next week list Art Share 002, the maiden stock
Jeffrey Epstein (left) with Leon Black (right) and Pepe FanjulJoe Schildhorn / Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Leon Black, the bigwig American investor and art collector, is the latest high profile figure to be dragged into the Jeffrey Epstein debacle. The sexagenarian who owns a version of Edvard Munch’s masterpiece The Scream (and who reportedly
In many ways, last weekend was a typical July jaunt to the Hamptons among the collecting crowd, packed with gallery openings and cocktail parties and dinners, excuses for the tycoons of industry and patrons of the arts to get out of the house. Meghan Markle was in town, and she hit up a party at
Art valuation is breaking new ground: the «Limna» app combines data and artificial intelligence to decipher the true value of paintings and brings transparency to the often opaque art market. In the complex terrain of the art market, the innovative app «Limna» serves as an indispensable navigation tool, especially for art lovers who are not involved