When the winning $78.4 million bid came in for Giacometti’s Le Nez (1947) at Sotheby’s record-breaking sale of the Macklowe Collection earlier this month, inquiring minds immediately began to speculate who the buyer was. Perhaps it was hedge-funder Steve Cohen, a longtime collector of the artist’s work? Or maybe the Qatari royal family?
Mere days after the sale, the true buyer revealed himself: Justin Sun, the Chinese-born, 31-year-old tech billionaire founder of the cryptocurrency platform TRON. The news served as proof positive that at least some of the new crypto rich were pouring their money into art. So far this year, Sun has spent more than $100 million at auction.