Alec N. Wildenstein

Alec Nathan Wildenstein (August 5, 1940 – February 18, 2008) was an American billionaire businessman, art dealer, racehorse owner, and breeder.

Alec Wildenstein
Born
Alec Nathan Wildenstein

August 5, 1940
Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
DiedFebruary 18, 2008(2008-02-18) (aged 67)
Paris, France
OccupationArt dealer, racehorse owner and breeder
Spouse(s)
Jocelyne Périsset
​
(
m. 1978; div. 1999)

Liouba Stoupakova
​
(
m. 2000; died 2008)
Children2
Parent(s)Daniel Wildenstein
Martine Kapferrer
RelativesGuy Wildenstein (brother)

Biography

Born in Marseille, Wildenstein was raised in New York City where his family owned and operated an art gallery. In 1875, his great-grandfather founded a business dealing in art.[1] His father, Daniel Wildenstein, was a distinguished scholar of impressionism whose career and dominant personality overshadowed his son's achievements. Daniel Wildenstein did not think a university education was necessary for his two sons to work in the family business. Daniel Wildenstein had a passion for racehorses, which his son shared.

Upon his father's death in 2001, Alec Wildenstein inherited half of a business empire[2] estimated at US$10 billion and included what was believed to be the world's largest private collection of major works of art.

Horse racing

Alec Wildenstein enjoyed thoroughbreds for flat and steeplechase and standardbreds for harness racing. His Ecurie Wildenstein racing stable hired Elie Lellouche and Dominique Sepulchre to train his flat horses, and Jean-Paul Gallorini and Marcel Rolland for his steeplechase runners. Wildenstein raced a number of successful horses including:

In 2004, Wildenstein's steeplechase runner, Kotkijet, owned in partnership with Jean-Pierre Dubois, won his second Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.[3]

Personal life

In 1977, his family purchased a 49% stake for Wildenstein in the first 66,000-acre (270 km2) Ol Jogi Ranch[4] on the Laikipia District in Kenya. In 1985, the family acquired complete ownership. He met Jocelyne Périsset when she was a guest at Ol Jogi Ranch and they were married on April 30, 1978. They had a daughter, Diane, followed by a son, Alec. Jr. Their divorce proceedings between 1997 and 1999 gained wide media coverage for revelations about the couple's extravagant spending habits and Jocelyn Wildenstein's fondness for plastic surgery.[5][6] Wildenstein died at age 67 in 2008 of prostate cancer.[7]

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References
  1. MUCHNIC, SUZANNE (2001-10-26). "Daniel Wildenstein, 84; Art Dealer". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
  2. Riding, Alan (2001-10-26). "Daniel Wildenstein, 84, Head of Art-World Dynasty, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
  3. "French Owner Alec Wildenstein Dead". BloodHorse.com. February 18, 2008.
  4. Ol Jogi Ranch Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, Symbion International
  5. Peter Ames Carlin, Surgical Strike People, January 26, 1998
  6. Eric Konigsberg, "What Money Can't Buy", New York Magazine, December 15, 1997]
  7. Obituary, The Times (login required), March 3, 2008
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