George Embiricos
{{Short description|Greek businessman (1920–2011)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = George Embiricos
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = George Embiricos
| birth_date = 1920
| birth_place = Andros
| death_date = 2011
| death_place =
| alma_mater = University of Athens
| education =
| occupation = Art collector, shipping magnate
| known_for =
}}
George Embiricos ({{langx|el|Γεώργιος Α. Εμπειρίκος}}, Georgios A. Empeirikos; 1920–2011) was a Greek shipping magnate, and art collector, who owned several masterpieces by El Greco, Goya, Cézanne, Kandinsky, Picasso, van Gogh and Bacon, in his home in Lausanne, Switzerland.{{Cite web |url=http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/BID/3932445423x0x603708/E2429263-816B-4A36-9E0B-D733DB6E4C1D/603708.pdf |access-date=February 3, 2015 |archive-date=February 3, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203125543/http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/BID/3932445423x0x603708/E2429263-816B-4A36-9E0B-D733DB6E4C1D/603708.pdf |title=Sotheby's to offer Property from the Estate of George Embiricos |publisher=Sotheby's |location=New York|url-status=dead }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cezannecatalogue.com/collections/entry.php?id=346|title=Collection: George Embiricos|website=The Paintings, Watercolors and Drawings of Paul Cezanne: An Online Catalogue Raisonné |publisher=Société Paul Cezanne |location=Aix en Provence}}
Early and professional life
Embiricos attended Cambridge prior to the outbreak of World War II and subsequently obtained a law degree from the University of Athens. He then joined the family shipping business in London. In the late 1940s he moved to New York with his wife and set up his own shipping office. He started collecting art in New York while continuing his career for many years in the shipping business. One of his innovations in shipping was conceiving the modern bulk carrier in 1954. While in New York he had two sons, Aristides and Peter.
Personal life
Embiricos's estate included the superyacht, Astarte II, and many other famous artworks. Notably, he sold the Paul Cézanne painting, The Card Players, for somewhere between $259 and $320 million reportedly to the Royal Family of Qatar in 2011.{{Cite web|url=http://www.superyachtfan.com/superyacht_owners_register_a_b.html|title = Yacht Owners Register • 2021 • Yachts & Owners}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/abigailesman/2012/02/06/the-250-million-dollar-cezanne-what-does-it-mean-to-you/|title = The $250 Million Cezanne: What Does It Mean to You?| website=Forbes }} It was the most expensive painting sold up to that time.{{Cite magazine |date=2012-02-02 |title=For $250 Million, Qatar Buys One of Cézanne's The Card Players, the Priciest-Ever Painting |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/02/qatar-buys-cezanne-card-players-201202 |access-date=2023-05-02 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}
References
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Category:Greek businesspeople in shipping
Category:National and Kapodistrian University of Athens alumni