Philip Niarchos (alternately: Philippos or Philippe; Greek: Φίλιππος Νιάρχος) (born 1954) is a Greek billionaire, the eldest son of the Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos and Eugenia Livanos, herself the elder daughter of Stavros Niarchos’ rival Stavros G. Livanos.
Inheritance and work
Philip Niarchos was reported to be 54 in 2008 when The Sunday Times estimated his net worth at GBP 850 million, or about $1.687 billion US at that exchange rate of that time. Alongside his younger brother, Spyros, Niarchos is Co-President and member of the Board of Directors at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and an International Council Member of London’s Tate Gallery. He was educated at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.
Art collector
Niarchos owns his late father’s art collection. The late Stavros Niarchos amassed one of the “most important collections of Impressionist and modern art in private hands.”Among the collection’s trophies are Pablo Picasso’s self-portrait Yo, Picasso, which the father had bought in 1989 for $47,850,000.
Niarchos has made plenty of additions to his father’s legacy. He was suspected as being the anonymous buyer of Vincent van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait”, at a November 1998 Christie’s auction; it sold for $71.5 million. He was certainly at the auction and was revealed as the anonymous buyer of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1982 Self-Portrait, which closed at $3.3 million. In 1994, he bought Andy Warhol’s Red Marilyn, at Christie’s for $3.63 million. Andy Warhol’s skull portraits are from Niarchos’ CAT scan. Warhol completed these works in 1985, using silkscreens made from CAT-scan films of the skull of Philip Niarchos, who commissioned the artist to paint his portrait. Niarchos is mentioned throughout The Andy Warhol Diaries. Warhol shares details of the dysfunctional relationship Niarchos had with the divorced and widowed socialite Barbara (née Tanner) de Kwiatkowski. Her married name was Barbara Allen at the time of her relationship with Niarchos; now she is the widow of Henryk de Kwiatkowski.
| Philip Niarchos | |
|---|---|
| Born | Φίλιππος Νιάρχος 1954 (age 62–63) Athens, Greece |
| Residence | Paris, France |
| Nationality | Greek |
| Occupation | Shipowner and art collector |
| Net worth | US$2.5 billion (March 2015) |
| Spouse(s) | Victoria Niarchos |
| Children | Stavros Niarchos II Eugenie Niarchos Theodorakis Niarchos Electra Niarchos |
| Parent(s) | Stavros Niarchos and Eugenia Livanos |
Philip Niarchos Net Worth: Philip Niarchos is a Greek businessman who has a net worth of $2.5 billion. Philip Niarchos was born in 1954 and is the eldest son of Greek shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos and Eugenia Livanos, who was the elder daughter of Stavros Niarchos’ rival Stavros G. Livanos. Niarchos, alongside younger brother Spyros, is Co-President and member of the Board of Directors at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Philip Niarchos is an International Council Member of London’s Tate Gallery as well. The story of the Niarchos clan is filled with drama worthy of a Hollywood film—from love triangles and private islands to drug overdoses and accusations of murder. Philip inherited the bulk of his father’s art collection. Bought in 1957 for $3 million from actor Edward G. Robinson, who needed to pay for his divorce, the Niarchos family’s art collection includes some of the world’s most recognizable pieces by some of the most important artists of their respective time. It is said to be the largest private collection of Van Gogh’s, including a self portrait of the Dutch master after having chopped off his own ear. Niarchos also owns one of the most iconic works by Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. The collection has grown under Philip, who added much post-war and contemporary works, including pieces by Andy Warhol and Maurizio Cattelan. Philip is credited by some as having put Haitian-American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in the category of absolute masters after buying a self-portrait for a then-record $3.3 million in 1982. In 1984, Niarchos married Victoria Christina Guinness, daughter of Patrick Benjamin Guinness (of the non-aristocratic branch of the renowned brewery family) and Dolores Maria Agatha Wilhelmine Luise, Freiin von Fürstenberg-Hedringen. Niarchos and Guinness have two sons and two daughters.
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