Guy Wildenstein Biography
Guy Wildenstein is a businessman, art dealer, and racehorse owner and breeder from France. Wildenstein’s art companies include the Wildenstein & Company art gallery in New York City, which was once located at 19 East 64th Street.
How old is Guy Wildenstein? – Age
He is 77 years old as of December 19, 2022. He was born in 1945 in New York City, US.
Guy Wildenstein Family
Wildenstein is the son of French art collector, racehorse owner, and breeder Daniel Wildenstein. Guy was born in the United States after his family escaped France during the German takeover during World War II.
Guy Wildenstein Wife – Children
Wildenstein has two children: Vanessa administers the family’s London gallery, while David maintains the family’s real estate interests.
Guy Wildenstein Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of €40.9 million.
Guy Wildenstein House
Wildenstein, a member of the Wildenstein family dynasty that founded Wildenstein & Co. in 1875, purchased the 9,600-square-foot townhouse in 2008 for nearly $33 million and offered it for approximately $40 million eight years later, in 2016. The sale price indicates a loss of $6.9 million. According to Crain’s, the purchase is a shell firm called Zhun Square, which can be traced back to a Westchester County couple named Yang Gui and Yang Lu.
In addition to owning some of New York City’s most expensive real estate, Guy’s brother Alec’s ex-wife Jocelyn “Catwoman” Wildenstein’s colorful life (and real estate) have garnered the Wildenstein family headlines over the years. Wildenstein & Co. did not respond to The Post’s request for comment right away.
The mansion is located between East 58th and 59th streets, overlooking FDR Drive and the East River, and features 16 rooms built around a rotunda with a spiral filigree staircase beneath a glass dome. According to a Serhant listing, there includes an elevator, parquet de Versailles hardwood flooring, bullet-proof windows, a dumbwaiter-equipped kitchen, a dining patio, and an upper deck with skyline views.
Guy Wildenstein Career
Wildenstein took up management of his father’s art company when his father died in 2001, allowing his brother Alec to focus on horse racing and breeding. Guy took over both enterprises after Alec died in 2008. In 2009, his stepmother, Silvia Wildenstein, challenged the magnitude of his portion of the family estate and trusts, which was believed to be between $5 billion and $10 billion.
Guy Wildenstein Trial
In June 2011, the BBC show Fake or Fortune? chastised Guy Wildenstein after the Wildenstein Institute refused to include the painting Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil in the Monet catalogue raisonné, despite the programme submitting conclusive documentary evidence to prove its authenticity. The show’s host, Philip Mould, suggested that the Wildenstein Institute be replaced with a committee of academics to determine whether or not a picture is an original Monet.
Guy Wildenstein was prosecuted by French police in July 2011 of hiding art that had been reported lost or stolen. The police recovered 30 artworks from the Wildenstein Institute vault, at least 20 of which were believed to have been part of Joseph Reinach’s collection, including sculptures by the Italian artist Rembrandt Bugatti, two drawings by Edgar Degas, and a pastel by Eugène Delacroix.
In 1972, Daniel Wildenstein was appointed executor of Reinach’s daughter’s inheritance and was tasked with dispersing the collection, which was housed at the Wildenstein Institute, among the heirs. In October 2016, Wildenstein appeared before a magistrate and rejected all allegations. Wildenstein was exonerated of hiding paintings at trial in 2017. The trial judge stated that there was a “clear attempt” by Wildenstein and others to hide assets, but it was difficult to deliver a guilty finding owing to flaws in the investigation. The prosecution prevailed in their appeal to the Cour de Cassation, and the case will be retried.
Guy Wildenstein and family members will face new tax fraud accusations in January 2021, it was confirmed. They have already been cleared twice. France will try the case for the third time. They are accused of defrauding French authorities of approximately £500 million.