Very few artists in the world are privileged enough to amass vast amounts of money in their lifetime. Recently art enthusiasts from all over the world gathered in London on the occasion of the yearly Frieze Art Lovers event in order to catch a glimpse of the world’s wealthiest artist.
According to several well-placed sources, the artist that is in the top of the list is Damien Hirst. The famous British artist is internationally renowned for his provocative and unique artworks that feature dead animals preserved in formaldehyde solution. He was the first artist to sell a complete show at the 2008 Sotheby’s art auction that was held in London. The show which was reportedly titled “Beautiful Inside my Head Forever”, managed to raise a record breaking $198 million. The impressive turnover generated at the auction helped to smash the previous record for the highest amount of money generated by selling off a single artist’s art works.
Another renowned name on the exclusive list is that of American artist and sculptor Jasper Johns with a staggering net worth of more than $ 200 million. In 2006 it was reported that his paintings were purchased by some private collectors for a record breaking price of $80 million.
The top three also includes an American painter named David Choe who reportedly has a massive fortune of more than $100 million. In 2007 David was commissioned to paint the murals on the walls of Facebook’s corporate headquarters by none other than iconic entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg.
