Alec N. Wildenstein

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

Alec Wildenstein
Born	Alec Nathan Wildenstein August 5, 1940 Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Died	February 18, 2008(2008-02-18) (aged 67) Paris, France
Occupation(s)	Art dealer, racehorse owner and breeder
Spouses	Jocelyne Périsset ​ ​ (m. 1978; div. 1999)​ Liouba Stoupakova ​ (m. 2000)​
Children	Diane Wildenstein - Alec Wildenstein Jr.
Parent(s)	Daniel Wildenstein Martine Kapferrer
Relatives	Guy 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.

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 Élie 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:

• Bright Sky – won the Prix de Diane, Prix de l'Opéra
• Aquarelliste – won Prix Vermeille, Prix de Diane, Prix Ganay
• Westerner – won Ascot Gold Cup, Prix du Cadran, Prix Royal-Oak, 2004 & 2005 European Champion Stayer
• Vallée Enchantée – won the Hong Kong Vase

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 the pressure he put on Jocelyne Wildenstein to undergo plastic surgery.^[5][6] In 2000 he married Russian-born model Liouba Stoupakova who survived him.^[7][8]

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 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine People, January 26, 1998
6. Eric Konigsberg, "What Money Can't Buy", New York Magazine, December 15, 1997]
7. "Alec Wildenstein, 67, Art Dealer, Horseman in Scandalous Divorce". 26 February 2008.
8. Corbett, Rachel (23 August 2023). "The Inheritance Case That Could Unravel an Art Dynasty". The New York Times.