1. Ezra and David Nahmad

Value of the collection: $3 billion

Types of art: Impressionist and modern art

Most iconic piece: Picasso’s Jacqueline (1955)

Ironically, although these brothers are rumored to own around $900 million worth of Picassos, they aren’t major art lovers.

Ezra and David Nahmad are first-and-foremost businessmen and enjoy art collecting when they can sell it for a profit. In fact, they own a stockpile of Impressionist and modern art stored in a tax-free warehouse in Switzerland.

2. David Geffen

Value of the collection: $2.3 billion

Types of art: Mid-century American artists

Most iconic piece: David Hockney’s The Splash

David Geffen is an entertainment tycoon and avid art collector. His art collection includes post-war masterpieces by Mark Rothko, Jasper Johns, and Jackson Pollock.

Geffen also sells artworks from his collection — at a profit. In 2016, he sold pieces by Willem de Kooning and Pollock to Kenneth C Griffin for half a billion dollars. Geffen also sold Jackson Pollock’s Painting No. 5 (1948) for a whopping $140 million to Mexican financier David Martinez.

3. Eli Broad and Edythe Broad

Value of the collection: $2.2 billion

Types of art: Post-war and contemporary art

Most iconic piece: Andy Warhol’s Two Marilyns

Eli Broad and Edythe Broad have an art collection of over 2,000 pieces by 200 artists, including Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Barbara Kruger and Yayoi Kusuma. Most of their collection is displayed at The Broad Museum in Los Angeles.

Notable pieces you’ll spot include Two Marilyns by Warhol, an untitled piece by Rauschenberg, and I…I’m Sorry by Lichtenstein.

4. Philip Niarchos

Value of the collection: $2.2 billion

Types of art: Impressionist and modern art

Most iconic pieces: Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait and Picasso’s Yo, Picasso

Philip Niarchos’ father, Stavros Niarchos, left him with a massive fortune and an extensive art collection, rumored to house the largest private collection of works by Vincent van Gogh.

Niarchos has added to the collection throughout the years. New additions include a self-portrait by Basquiat and Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Red and Green Burning Car I (1963).

5. Paul Allen

Value of the collection: Over $1.6 billion

Types of art: Pointillism, contemporary and Florentine art

Most iconic piece: Seurat’s Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)

Late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen was a passionate art collector — his private collection spanned 26 years and featured iconic works by Botticelli, McArthur Binion, Vincent van Gogh and more.

In November 2022, Allen’s collection fetched over $1.6 billion at a Christie’s auction, making it the largest single-owner sale in auction history. The most expensive piece in the collection is Seurat’s Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version), which sold for a whopping $149.2 million.

6. Francois Pinault

Value of the collection: $1.4 billion

Types of art: Modern and contemporary art

Most iconic piece: Piet Mondrian’s Tableau Losangique II

Francois Pinault acquired Christie’s in 1998 — the world-leading auction house. He’s also the founder of luxury brands like Gucci and Yves Saint-Laurent.

When it comes to collecting art, Pinault has been collecting modern and contemporary masterpieces for over 30 years, amassing a collection of over 2,500 artworks. His collection consists of works by prolific artists, including Rothko, Warhol and Koons.

7. Claribel and Etta Cone

Value of the collection: Over $1 billion

Types of art: Modern art

Most iconic piece: Henri Matisse’s Pink Nude

Claribel Cone and Etta Cone, also known as the Cone sisters, were American art collectors and socialites. Their social circle included the likes of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Gertrude Stein.

The sisters owned one of the most famous modern art collections in the United States. The collection is still featured in a wing of the Baltimore Museum of Art.

8. Steve Cohen

Value of the collection: $1 billion

Types of art: Post-Impressionist and modern art

Most iconic pieces: Van Gogh’s Young Peasant Woman and Gauguin’s Bathers

Steve Cohen owns a museum’s worth of Post-Impressionist paintings and modern artworks.

Notable pieces in his collection include Munch’s Madonna, Willem de Kooning’s Police Gazette and Woman III and Marc Quinn’s Self.

9. Count Giuseppe Panza di Biumo

Value of the collection: $11 million

Types of art: Pop Art, Minimalist Art

Most iconic pieces: Kosuth’s Self-Define and LeWitt’s Wall Drawing No. 3

Giuseppe Panza di Biumo started collecting art alongside his wife, Giovanna, in 1956. Giuseppe was one of the first promoters of Pop Art and later became fascinated by Minimalism, especially the works of Robert Morris, Dan Flavin, Carl Andre and Donald Judd.

Giuseppe Panza di Biumo’s collection was considered one of the most important collections of post-war American art throughout the 1960s–1970s.

10. Daniel Turriani

Value of the collection: Unknown

Types of art: Contemporary art and antiques

Daniel Turriani is an Italian art collector and the founder of JT ART Asset — an art investment company specializing in contemporary, modern and Impressionist Art.

Turriani collects contemporary works by Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami and modern pieces by Henri Matisse and Modigliani.

The Most Famous Art Collectors: Guardians of Masterpieces