The best in the business are some of the richest, most powerful men on the planet, yet hedge funder managers are typically reserved when it comes to the media spotlight. Many, however, are not so restrained when it comes to spending their hard earned, exorbitant amounts of cash.
As ‘hedgies’ go, few can boast the spending power of controversial New York financier Steve Cohen. He’s amassed an estimated fortune of around $11.1 billion and been far from shy about lightening this bank load. These are just 5 of his most extravagant purchases.
35,000 SQUARE FOOT CONNECTICUT MANSION
With a supposed value of $23.1 million, Cohen’s 18-plus acre home is far from humble. With the main house, plus a neighbouring home, joined by a 2 hole golf course, ice-skating rink, indoor basketball court and a glass-enclosed pool we can see why Cohen’s made this his main home. The mansion also houses hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Cohen’s extensive art collection.
A STAKE IN THE NEW YORK METS
An avid baseball fan, he snapped up the chance to purchase a minority stake in the Mets in 2012, parting with $20 million for just 4% of the team despite the fact there’s not much in the way of profit in the stake. He’s also previously made an unsuccessful bid for the LA Dodgers, and went as far as to hire an architect for their stadium before the deal collapsed.
DAMIEN HIRST’S SHARK
A renowned art collector, Cohen’s collection is almost unrivalled and been estimated at coming close to $1 billion. In 2006 Cohen purchased Damien Hirst’s ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living’ from Charles Saatchi for a reported $8 million fee. The iconic tiger shark, preserved in formaldehyde in a vitrine is one of the best-known pieces in the hedgie’s collection.
HIS NEW YORK PROPERTY PORTFOLIO
Aside from his Greenwich compound, Cohen has a property portfolio in the New York area that spans a couple of hundred million dollars. With 3 buildings in New York City and 2 Hampton summer homes, the most extravagant being the sole duplex in the Bloomberg Tower that was listed in 2013 for $115 million.
PICASSO’S “LA REVE”
The most expensive artwork ever bought by a US collector, Cohen purchased the masterpiece for $155 million in 2013; besting his previous record of $137.5 which he paid for Willem de Kooning’s Woman III in 2006. The transaction was finalised weeks after his firm settled on insider trading charges for more than $600 million.
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