While celebrities love collecting art, some are just better at it than others. Last week Wealth-X released a list of Hollywood’s top 10 art collectors, with the top four dominated by film producers, directors and studio executives, and the likes of Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio following after.
Industry giant David Geffen tops the list in first with an art collection estimated at $2.3 million and a net worth of $7 billion. If you aren’t familiar with him, you should be. He not only founded Asylum records in 1970 (signing acts like Tom Waits and Bob Dylan) and Geffen Records in 1980, he was also one of the original DreamWorks founders (accompanied by Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg). Plus, he has a major philanthropist reputation, with his most recent donation being $100 million towards the renovation of the Avery Fisher Hall in New York (soon to be the David Geffen Hall), which is around 20 percent of the total project. Geffen’s impressive art collection is said to include the likes of Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Gustav Klimt.
Coming in second place on the list is Star Wars titan George Lucas. Estimated to be worth $6.4 billion, Lucas’ art collection is valued at $600 million. Owning pieces by Norman Rockwell and Alberto Vargas, Lucas is planning on building his very own $300 million art museum in Chicago, which is planned for a 2018 opening date.
Arnon Milchan may not be a household name, but he’s produced well over 130 feature films, including Birdman, Pretty Woman, Fight Club, and 12 Years a Slave. The 70-year-old tycoon who owns New Regency Films used to be a key Israeli intelligence operative from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, perhaps making him one of the most interesting figures on the list.
Famed director Steven Spielberg is in fourth place, with a collection worth $240 million and an estimated net worth of $3.2 billion, while actor Jack Nicholson breaks the top five by amassing $100 million in art. With a $50 million art array, producer Steve Tisch (Forrest Gump, Risky Business, and The Equalizer) is in sixth place, followed closely by Brad Pitt who owns $25 million in artworks. Entertainment lawyer Jacob A. Bloom is in eight place with a $14 million art collection and in ninth is talent agent Michael Ovitz, with $12 million.
The youngest on the list, just breaking the top 10 with a $10 million art collection, is 40-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio. Including pieces by Takashi Murakami, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Frank Stella, DiCaprio is already playing in the big leagues when it comes to amassing the world’s finest art and we wouldn’t be surprised if he starts moving his way up the list.
