«I LIKE MONEY ON THE WALL»

Francois Pinault
Art collection: $1.4 billion

French luxury goods titan (Louis Vuitton, etc) whose business empire includes auction house Christie's. His personal art collection encompasses 2,000-plus works by over 80 artists including Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian and Jeff Koons as well as new talents such as Swiss-born Urs Fischer. Displays some of his key works at his two museums in Venice: the Palazzo Grassi, which opened in 2006; and the Punta della Dogana, a former customs house that opened in June. Once told Forbes: "I am interested in art that challenges me, that disturbs the calm and reassurance of the bourgeois lifestyle."

Forbes
July 27 2009