Culture / Art Republik

Lily Safra Paid $103.4 Million for Giacometti

London-based billionaire Lily Safra is the buyer of the Alberto Giacometti sculpture that fetched a record $103.4 million at a London auction. “It was a freak result,” said Philip Hoffman, chief executive of the London-based Fine Art Fund. “But there are wealthy people out there desperate to buy rare pieces and when something important comes […]

Mar 02, 2010 | By Anakin

London-based billionaire Lily Safra is the buyer of the Alberto Giacometti sculpture that fetched a record $103.4 million at a London auction.

“It was a freak result,” said Philip Hoffman, chief executive of the London-based Fine Art Fund.

“But there are wealthy people out there desperate to buy rare pieces and when something important comes up with a sensible estimate the bidding goes crazy.”

Safra is the widow of Lebanese banker Edmond Safra, who passed away in 1999.

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According to Forbes’s 2009 listing of the world’s wealthiest individuals, Lily has a net worth of $1 billion.

If the name sounds familiar, it’s probably in connection with another name, Villa Leopolda.

Safra owns Villa Leopolda that once had a reported price tag of $750 million and was nearly sold to Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov.

Source: Bloomberg


 
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