Art Industry News: Hedge-Fund Manager Ken Griffin Just Bought a Basquiat From Peter Brant for More Than $100 Million + Other Stories (ArtNet News) Ken Griffin Buys a $100 Million Basquiat – The art market has always seemed to operate in its own universe, somewhat disconnected from the reality of the rest of the world—and right now is no different. According to the industry newsletter Baer Faxt, hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin purchased a work by Jean-Michel Basquiat privately for more than $100 million. (The news comes as New York’s major spring auctions have been rescheduled and activity at the top of the art market has been quiet.) The seller was reportedly Peter Brant, Griffin’s new neighbor in Palm Beach, who mounted a glitzy display of the artist’s work at his private museum in Manhattan last year. Basquiat’s public auction record is $110.5 million, set at Sotheby’s in 2017.
They don't buy art because of how pretty or meaningful it is or what the history is behind it. They buy it to flip it for more millions and millions. Its nothing but a future money grab. This art that sells for tens of millions of dollars would be worth nothing if it weren't for the elite and rich buying and selling it for monetary gains. The art world has completely changed the last 40 years or so..
It is criticism of monetary policy. Why would you keep the money in the bank when the currency is being debased?