Ezra Nahmad

Ezra Nahmad (born 1945) is a Lebanon-born fine art collector and dealer, and a billionaire with a net worth of US$1.5billion.[1] He has four children, including the British art dealer Helly Nahmad, and resides in Monaco.[2]

In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated that Ezra, together with his brothers - David and Joseph (Giuseppe) Nahmad and business partners, have built a collection estimated to be worth $3–4 billion.[3]

Background

Ezra was born in Beirut, Lebanon in a Lebanese Jewish family. The roots of the Nahmad family are in Aleppo, Syria, where Ezra's father, Sephardic Jewish banker Hillel Nahmad lived until just after the second world war.[2] Following anti-Jewish violence in 1947, his father moved to Beirut, Lebanon, where Ezra and his brothers source sold English novels to US sailors stationed in Lebanon. In the early 1960s, When the situation there became difficult, Ezra's father took him and his brothers, Joseph (Giuseppe), David, to Milan. As teenagers, the three began to deal in art - and skipped school to trade on the Italian stock market.[2]

Early life and career

Ezra's first career's milestone is believed to have taken place at a Juan Gris exhibition in Rome, organized by cubist dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler. Ezra and his brother bought two works – the only pieces sold. Kahnweiler befriended them, selling them works by Picasso, Braque, and Gris. With the emergence of the Red Brigades terror group in the 1970s, Milan was perceived as too dangerous, and the family moved again. Ezra and his brother Joseph headed for Monaco, and David to New York.[4]

As of 2013, Ezra and his brother David are considered influential megadealers of modern and impressionist art by the most well-known names, from Monet and Matisse to Renoir and Rothko. They own a vast inventory of between 4,000 and 4,500 works, stored in a duty-free warehouse next to the airport in Geneva, Switzerland. The brothers buy and sell most of their works at auction.

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Ezra Nahmad profile". Forbes. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Jackie Wullschlager. "Lunch with the FT: Helly Nahmad". Financial Times. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  3. ↑ Sarah Cascone (December 18, 2012). "Mega-Collector and Dealer Giuseppe Nahmad Died in November". Art in America. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Gallerist Helly Nahmad Arrested For Suspected Gambling Related Money Laundering". April 17, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
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