Heidi_Horten

Heidi Horten

Heidi Horten

Austrian billionaire and art collector (1941–2022)

Heidi Horten (née Jelinek; 13 February 1941 – 12 June 2022)[1] was an Austrian billionaire and art collector. She was the widow of businessman Helmut Horten, whose wealth was famously rooted in Nazi profiteering. [2] In May 2020 Forbes estimated her net worth at US$3.0 billion.[3]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Biography

Horten inherited her wealth upon the death of her husband, the founder of the German department store business Horten AG.[3] Horten met her husband when she was 19; he was 32 years older than her.[3] Horten was part of the board of Helmut Horten Stiftung, a charitable foundation that supports various healthcare related institutions, funds medical research, and helps individuals in need.[3]

Luxury yacht Carinthia VII (owned by Heidi Horten, Austria) in Venice

Horten divided her time between Vienna, Austria, and Ticino, Switzerland, when in Europe, and Lyford Cay in the Bahamas.[3] Horten owned the Carinthia VII, a 315-foot yacht. She enjoyed hunting and art collecting. Horten sold the 35.56 carat Wittelsbach Diamond, formerly part of the Crown Jewels of Bavaria, for $24 million in 2008.[3]

In August 2019, it emerged that Horten had donated almost one million euros in 2018 and in 2019 to the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).[4]

Art collection

Horten amassed an art collection of over 500 works, which included paintings by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz, and Yves Klein.[5] In 2018, 170 works from the Heidi Horten Collection were exhibited at Leopold Museum in Vienna.[6]

In 2019, Horten announced plans to open a private museum, having bought a 155-year-old, 2,000 m2 (22,000 sq ft) mansion in Vienna to house the collection.[5] Designed by architects Marie-Therese Harnoncourt-Fuchs and Ernst Fuchs,[7] the museum opened to the public in 2022.[8]

Following Horten's death, her jewellery collection was being auctioned by Christie's in May 2023.[9] The auction set a record for the most valuable single collection of jewels, fetching CHF 180 million (US$201 million).[10][11][12] Following controversy over the source of the Horten fortune, Christie's announced that a portion of the proceeds would be contributed to Holocaust education and related causes.[13] On 31 August 2023, Christie's cancelled the auction entirely after Jewish charities and organizations refused to accept any monies related to the sale. [14]

References

  1. [1]
    "Trauer um Kunstsammlerin Heidi Goess-Horten". news.ORF.at (in German). 12 June 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  2. [2]
  3. [3]
    "Forbes profile: Heidi Horten". Forbes. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  4. [4]
    Süddeutsche Zeitung 22 August, 2019 print edition (in German)
  5. [5]
    Durón, Maximilíano (10 September 2018). "Heidi Goëss-Horten". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  6. [6]
    "Klimt's Landscape Has a Special Place in My Home". Larry's List. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  7. [7]
    Cathrin Kahlweit (12 June 2022), Heidi Goëss-Horten gestorben: Ein Leben für die Kunst Süddeutsche Zeitung.
  8. [8]
    Alex Greenberger (10 June 2022), A Secretive Austrian Collector Unveils a Long-Awaited Private Museum in Vienna ARTnews.
  9. [9]
    Hernandez, Belen (10 April 2023). "Christie's largest jewelry sale: A billionaire widow, diamonds and a fortune built on Nazi plunder". El País.
  10. [10]
    Holland, Oscar; Orie, Amarachi (16 May 2023). "Controversial jewelry collection fetches a record-shattering $201 million". CNN.
  11. [11]
    "The World of Heidi Horten: Magnificent Jewels Part I". Christie's. 10 May 2023.
  12. [12]
    "The World of Heidi Horten: Magnificent Jewels Part II". Christie's. 12 May 2023.
  13. [13]
    McFall, Caitlin. "Heiress' $150 million jewelry auction sparks controversy over late husband's profits during Nazi oppression". Fox News. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  14. [14]
    Small, Zachary (31 August 2023). "Christie's Cancels Sale of Jewelry Connected to Nazi-Era Fortune". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 September 2023.

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