I Love Art

It's my art collection that has become worth something. Although I had bought some art in the late 1990s, in 2000 I made a conscious decision to invest in art using part of the proceeds I had received from selling most of my equity mutual funds that January.

My primary reason was I love living with art, but I also thought it would be a good asset class for diversification. I reckoned that stocks weren't going to do much in the next several years. I anticipated that many other stock investors would think the same as I did.

At the time, I had no idea that so many hedge fund managers and investment bankers, far wealthier than I, would shovel their bonus money into art, driving up prices. Nor did I realize the extent to which new wealth in Russia, China, India, and the Middle East would find its way into the art market. Art has a two-fold attraction for these people—investment potential, combined with the social cachet of owning important works.