Late Microsoft Co-Founder’s Art Collection Sells For $1.5 Billion

Paul Allen, who passed away in 2018, co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975. After the entrepreneur helped spearhead the computer revolution of the ’80s and ’90s, he eventually obtained an impressive art collection. According to fine art auctioneer Christie’s, the sale of Allen’s personal collection was the largest art auction in history, garnering $1.5 billion.

The collection is as diverse as it is impressive — with works from the likes of Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Gustav Klimt — many of which sold for more than $100 million each, breaking individual records for the artists, BBC reported.

Related: T. Rex Sells for $31.8 Million in Christie’s Digitally-Focused Auction

The most expensive item sold was Georges Seurat’s 1888 work “Les Poseuses, Ensemble” (small version), which was purchased for $149.2 million, including fees.

Credit: Guy Bell | Shuttershock

Seurat’s 1888 work “Les Poseuses, Ensemble” (small version)

Before Allen’s, the highest-grossing auction was the Macklowe collection, which brought in $922 million in early 2022.

According to BBC, experts think the uber-rich are cashing in on art as a “safe investment” amid uncertain economic conditions and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The proceeds from the auction of Allen’s artwork will be donated to charities supported by the late Microsoft co-founder before his death in 2018.