| Steve Cohen (Photo: Bloomberg) |
Hedge fund managers making more money than God in the markets are also increasingly the default players in politics, philanthropy and art. The 2012 ARTnews 200 survey of top collectors reaffirms just how powerful they are in the world of high priced paintings, sculptures and photographs.
The reigning king of the hedge fund art set is SAC Capital Advisors founder Steve Cohen (with his wife Alexandra) who made the top ten list of the “world’s most active collectors” this year—as he has every year since 2002. Cohen appears alongside such heavyweights as Apollo Global Management founder Leon Black (who recently paid nearly $120 million for “The Scream”) and Eli Broad (whose name is on several museums). Cohen is a collector of impressionism and modern art, like Jeff Koons’ “Balloon Dog,” Damien Hirst’s shark work, and Willem de Kooning’s “Women III.”
Hedge funds also figure prominently on the unranked 22nd annual top 200 list, which is compiled through ARTnews interviews with “collectors, dealers, auctioneers, museum directors, curators, and consultants.” They are:
Name | Firm | Location | Art type |
Laura and John Arnold | Centaurus Advisors (closed) | Houston, TX | Postwar and contemporary art |
Glenn Dubin | Highbridge Capital Management | New York, NY | Modern and contemporary art |
Caryl and Israel Englander | Millennium Management | New York, NY | Contemporary art |
Amanda and Glenn R. Fuhrman | MSD Capital | New York, NY | Contemporary art |
Danielle and David Ganek | Level Global (closed) | New York, NY | Contemporary art and photography |
Noam Gottesman | GLG Partners | New York, NY | Postwar and contemporary art |
Anne and Kenneth C. Griffin | Citadel | Chicago, IL | Post-Impressionism |
Christine and Andrew Hall | Astenbeck Capital Management | Westport, CT | Contemporary art, especially German |
Janine and J. Tomilson Hill | Blackstone Alternative Asset Management | New York, NY | Postwar American and European art; Renaissance bronzes |
Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis | KKR & Co. | New York, NY; Vail, CO | Modern and contemporary art; French furniture |
Pierre Lagrange | GLG Partners | London, U.K. | Postwar and contemporary art |
Margaret and Daniel Loeb | Third Point | New York, NY; East Hampton, NY | Postwar and contemporary art; feminist art |
David Martinez | Fintech Advisory | London, U.K,; New York, NY | Modern and contemporary art |
Amy and John Phelan | MSD Capital | New York, NY; Aspen, CO | Contemporary art |
Lisa and Steven Tananbaum | GoldenTree Asset Management | Westchester, NY; Palm Beach, FL | Postwar and contemporary art |
