The Richest Collectors

P Photo/Antonio Calanni (left)
© Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images (right)

Forbes:Suffering from one of its worst years in recent memory, the art world got a boost in June when French billionaire François Pinault opened his new modern art museum, the Punta della Dogana, in Venice's former customs house at the entrance of the Grand Canal. In what some called the "Dogana effect," the opening was also seen as having helped boost attendance at Art Basel, the respected contemporary art fair in Switzerland later that month. While sales for the toned-down fair are hard to come by, a record crowd of 61,000, including billionaires Mitchell Rales, Eli Broad and Roman Abramovich showed up at the event.

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