| Nasser David Khalili ناصر داوود خلیلی |
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|---|---|
| Born | 18 December 1945[1] Esfahan, Iran |
| Residence | London, England |
| Alma mater | Queens College, City University of New York |
| Occupation | Property developer Art collector Professor |
| Net worth | US$1.0 billion[2] |
| Spouse | Marion Easton |
| Children | three |
| Website | |
| Khalili Family Trust | |
Nasser David Khalili, KCSS, KCFO (Persian: ناصر داوود خلیلی, born 18 December 1945 in Esfahan) is a British-Iranian property developer, art collector and philanthropist based in London. He holds [United Kingdom] citizenship.[3]
In the Sunday Times Rich List 2007 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 5th with an estimated fortune of £5,800 million.[4] This included an estimated value of £4,500 million for his art collection. In May 2007 The Art Newspaper questioned that valuation, up from £500 million the previous year.[5] A £1,000 million valuation is claimed to be more likely.[6] He disappeared from the Rich List in 2009, a year in which the compilers claimed to have been more stringent in the face of the financial crisis.
In a law of contract case in 2005, Savills failed to wind up Khalili's main property company in a bid to obtain £1m commission on the sale of the UK's most expensive house (18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens). The High Court struck out the winding–up petition, brought by Savills, Beauchamp Estates and Glentree Estates after Khalili's company Favermead had refused to pay fees on the £57m sale of the house to industrialist Lakshmi Mittal in a dispute as to whether any commission was payable if the agents had not been the effective cause of the sale.[7]
He was appointed by Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro a Knight Commander of the Royal Order of Francis I (KCFO) . Pope John Paul II made him a Knight of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Sylvester Pope and Martyr (KSS). Pope Benedict XVI further promoted him to Knight Commander of the same order (KCSS).[8]
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He founded the Nasser D. Khalili Chair of Islamic Art at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, is a Visiting Professor of the School, and Member of the School's Governing Body.[3] At the University of Oxford he established a research fellowship in Islamic Art and endowed The Khalili Research Centre for the Art and Material Culture of the Middle East.[9][10]
He is also the founder and chairman of the Maimonides Foundation, an interfaith charitable organization promoting dialogue between Jews and Muslims.[11]
His Islamic art collection extends to 20,000 items and is the largest of its kind held privately in the world.[12] It is currently being present in a twenty seven volume series of which 17 have been published to date. This Impressive collection is in part almost always on show in various Museums around the world. [13]
His Japanese art collection contains 1500 items and is considered to be the greatest known group of Japanese artworks from the Meiji Period. These have been meticulously described and published in a nine volume series entitled Meiji no Takara: Treasures of Imperial Japan.[14]. Since 1995 this collection has been exhibited internationally at various museums all around the world.[15]
His collections are among the most important held in private hands and among the best documented. Details of every major piece he has collected have either been published or are planned for publication.[16]