LARRY GAGOSIAN

Gagosian and Castelli knew each other, played cards together and, at one point, owned a gallery together. (Ga­go­sian also represents Edward Ruscha, Serra, Cy Twombly and Warhol, all once in Castelli’s stable.) Castelli introduced Gagosian to one of his wealthiest customers, billionaire S.I. Newhouse. While Castelli rarely played in the so-called secondary market (for work previously sold), Gagosian often did, putting his own and others’ money at risk. That ­tactic helped put him on the fast track to riches. Come 1988, Gagosian bid $17 million on behalf of Newhouse for Johns’ “False Start” (1959) at a Sotheby’s auction. “Everybody is stunned, and for me the price is unexplainable,” a dealer told The New York Times the next day.

-Forbes
5/3/2012