Exclusive: The wealthy banking heir and Encyclopedia Britannica owner blames the auction house for sloppily offloading his collection in what he dubs a “fire sale.”. When an extraordinary cache of love letters written by Albert Einstein to his first wife between 1898 and 1903 went up for auction last December, the historic collection was expected to fetch up to $2 million.
![[Billionaire banking heir Jacqui Safra claims Christie’s sold his collection of letters written by Albert Einstein at “fire sale” prices]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/14/GettyImages-928003550.jpg)
In the filings, the Encyclopedia Britannica owner, California vineyard boss, and sometime Woody Allen film producer says Christie’s did not have the right to sell the Einstein letters, and further blames the auction house for sloppily offloading them at just 35 percent of the low estimate, in what he dubs a “fire sale.”.
![[Jacqui Safra is suing Christie’s over a tranche of letters written by iconic physicist Albert Einstein over the low hammer price the items brought in]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/13/GettyImages-544751563.jpg)
“This is not merely a case of breach of contract,” states an affidavit filed Friday. “Christie’s actions represent a systemic betrayal of trust, wherein the world’s largest auction house manipulated its power over one of the most significant private collections of art and cultural artifacts in history.”.
![[Christie’s auctioned Jacqui Safra’s collection of art and historical objects at “fire sale” prices, he says in court filings]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/13/GettyImages-159990479.jpg)
In an email on Sunday, Christie’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Gillian Gorman Round, said, “We have no comment to make on this matter.”. An application by Safra for a temporary restraining order asking a judge to halt the upcoming sale of additional artworks from his $100 million collection — $87 million of which he purchased from Christie’s — says the 78-year-old financier trusted the auction house to be a “steward” of his “unique works of unparalleled historical value.”.
![[Jacqui Safra also contends that Christie’s lowballed the sale of a number of Old Masters artworks from his collection, according to court papers]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/13/GettyImages-1360354596.jpg)
