The jewelry auctioned by an Austrian philanthropist in Geneva set a record $202 million despite the woman's husband's association with the Nazi regime. The total sale exceeded the previous record of 116 million dollars established in 2011, when the jewelry belonging to the actress Liz Taylor was lost.
Auctions of Heidi Horten's collection began last Wednesday and ended on May 15 with a queue in November. Horten died last year, leaving a fortune estimated by Forbes at $2.9 billion.
Suspicions about the Nazis-stained origin of the collection had been circulating for some time and were confirmed in January 2002 by a report commissioned by the Heidi Horten Foundation itself according to which Heidi's husband, Helmut Horten, had been a member of the Nazi party and had built his fortune by buying companies of persecuted Jews forced to sell at bargain prices. Jewish organizations had objected to the sale and asked Christie's to suspend it, but the auction house had countered that the philanthropic goals of the Horten Foundation were above doubt about the origin of the gems. Christie's had also pledged to devote part of its earnings to Holocaust research initiatives. (ANSA).
All-time record for the auction of jewelry stained with Nazism - Lifestyle
2023-05-17T08:47:50.497Z
Highlights: Auctions of Heidi Horten's collection began last Wednesday and ended on May 15 with a queue in November. The total sale exceeded the previous record of 116 million dollars established in 2011. Heidi's husband, Helmut Horten, had been a member of the Nazi party and had built his fortune by buying companies of persecuted Jews forced to sell at bargain prices. Jewish organizations had objected to the sale and asked Christie's to suspend it, but the auction house had countered that the philanthropic goals of the Horten Foundation were above doubt.
The jewelry auctioned by an Austrian philanthropist in Geneva set a record $202 million despite the woman's husband's association with the Nazi regime. (ANSA)
