Einstein love letters pit billionaire against top auction house in high-stakes feud 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.”.
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.”.
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.
“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.”.
