# Painting auction of all time



## mhansen2 (Nov 15, 2017)

500-year-old Leonardo da Vinci painting sells for $450M at auction

Purchased for $10,000, sold for $450,300,000. (!)

Leonardo da Vinci painting 'Salvator Mundi' sold for record $450.3 million


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## waltky (Dec 7, 2017)

Saudi Prince Is Buyer Of $450M DaVinci Painting...





*Mystery Solved: Saudi Prince Is Buyer Of $450M DaVinci Painting*
_December 7, 2017 - The mystery over who paid a record-breaking $450 million for Leonardo da Vinci's painting Salvator Mundi at an auction last month appears to have been solved. It turns out it's Saudi Arabia's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman._


> That's according to U.S. intelligence officials who keep a close eye on the kingdom's young and powerful crown prince, says the Wall Street Journal.  The winning bid in the November 15 auction at Christie's in New York was made anonymously by phone using a Christie's representative. The New York Times reported earlier that documents showed another member of the royal family, Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, placed the final bid. But intelligence officials say Bader was just a proxy for crown prince Mohammed.
> 
> Normally, news of a wealthy and powerful member of Saudi Arabia's royal family buying a piece of art would not raise any interest. But the timing on this purchase was notable. It came just two weeks after Crown Prince Mohammed launched an anti-corruption campaign, rounding up more than 200 Saudi businessmen, ministers and princes. Most are being detained at a luxury hotel in the capital, Riyadh.  The identity of the buyer became something of a parlor game. Even executives at Christie's had questions about who it was.
> 
> ...


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