Philip Niarchos

About Philip Niarchos

Birth Year: 1954
Birth Place: Paris, France, Greece
Residence: Paris, France
Occupation: Shipowner and art collector
Spouse(s): Victoria Niarchos
Children: 4
Parent(s): Stavros Niarchos Eugenia Livanos

Philip Niarchos

Philip Niarchos was born on 1954 in Paris, France, Greece. Philip Niarchos is the oldest son of the late Stavros Niarchos, one of the world's richest shipping magnates. The oldest of his four children with Eugenia Livianos, he inherited the bulk of his father's art collection. Bought in 1957 for $3 million from actor Edward G. Robinson, who needed to pay for his divorce, the art collection includes some of the world's most recognizable pieces. It is said to be the largest private collection of works by Van Gogh, including a self portrait of the Dutch master after he chopped off his ear. The collection also includes one of the most iconic works by Pablo Picasso, "Yo, Picasso." Since inheriting the collection, Philip has added post-war and contemporary works, including pieces by Andy Warhol and Maurizio Cattelan. Philip is credited by some as having put Haitian-American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in the category of absolute masters after buying a self-portrait of his for a then-record $3.3 million in 1982.
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Biography/Timeline

1929

Niarchos was a first cousin of the late heiress Christina Onassis whose mother Athina Livanos (1929–1974) was a younger sister of his own mother and later became his father's last wife. Niarchos is a first cousin once removed of Athina Onassis de Miranda.

1960

In 1984, Niarchos married, for the third time, Victoria Christina Guinness (b. 30 January 1960), daughter of Patrick Benjamin Guinness (of the non-aristocratic branch of the renowned brewery family) and Dolores Guinness (1936–2012). Niarchos and Guinness have two sons and two daughters.

1989

Niarchos owns his late father's art collection. The late Stavros Niarchos amassed one of the "most important collections of Impressionist and modern art in private hands." Among the collection's trophies are Pablo Picasso's self-portrait Yo, Picasso, which the Father had bought in 1989 for $47,850,000.

1998

Niarchos has made plenty of additions to his father's legacy. He was suspected as being the anonymous buyer of Vincent van Gogh's "Self-Portrait", at a November 1998 Christie's auction; it sold for $71.5 million. He was certainly at the auction and was revealed as the anonymous buyer of Jean-Michel Basquiat's 1982 Self-Portrait, which closed at $3.3 million. In 1994, he bought Andy Warhol's Red Marilyn, at Christie's for $3.63 million. Andy Warhol's skull portraits are from Niarchos' CAT scan. Warhol completed these works in 1985, using silkscreens made from CAT-scan films of the skull of Philip Niarchos, who commissioned the Artist to paint his portrait. Niarchos is mentioned throughout The Andy Warhol Diaries. Warhol shares details of the dysfunctional relationship Niarchos had with the divorced and widowed socialite Barbara (née Tanner) de Kwiatkowski. Her married name was Barbara Allen at the time of her relationship with Niarchos; now she is the widow of Henryk de Kwiatkowski.

2008

Philip Niarchos was reported to be 54 in 2008 when The Sunday Times estimated his net worth at GBP 850 million, or about $1.687 billion US at that exchange rate of that time. Alongside his younger brother, Spyros, Niarchos is co-president and member of the board of Directors at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. He is also a member of the board of trustees at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and an international council member of London's Tate Gallery. He was educated at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland.

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