
Celebrities who invest in artwork and paintings and make tidy profit too.
Oprah Winfrey makes a cool $60M from just one painting
Reportedly Oprah Winfrey sold a portrait by Gustav Klimt for $150M.
So you thought, one has to dabble in real estate, stock-market, or some kind of business to make huge money? Well, here’s another way – buy and sell paintings.
In 2006, Oprah Winfrey bought a painting by Austrian master Gustav Klimt for $87.9 million. Although many thought it was a high price to pay, years later, it seemed to be a very wise move by Oprah.

(Neue Galerie)
Oprah recently sold the painting for a much higher price…Guess how much?
Oprah sold the “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II” (1912 painting that depicts the wife of a Vienna art patron) for $150 million making a cool profit of about $62 million, reports Bloomberg.
And the only thing she had to do was to ensure the painting was safe.
Also Read: Bollywood stars who have a talent for painting
Oprah had loaned the painting to Museum of Modern Art in New York City, where it caught the eye of an unidentified Chinese, who bought it for the new price (currently the painting hangs at the Neue Galerie in New York).
Oprah Winfrey is known to be a serious art collector, says the Hollywood Reporter, although there’s not much information on what she owns.
Salman Khan to sell his paintings, proceeds to go to charity
Salman Khan, a gifted painter, finally agrees to sell some of his paintings. Sale proceeds to go to charity.
“Salman’s paintings are all about the emotions of life. They are focussed on love, family ties and the oneness of religion, which are all feelings that resonate with the actor. They are extremely personal and he does not paint for money or fame; he does it for the joy and peace it brings him. His family and friends are always gifting him canvases, paints and brushes, but Salman insists that his best works are on life-sized frames with hands. Those will be the paintings up for purchase too.”
Here’s one of Salman Khan’s paintings.
Bajrangi bhaijaan pic.twitter.com/6jW47ZD5zA
— Salman Khan (@BeingSalmanKhan) June 16, 2015
Despite being a gifted painter, Salman Khan never sold any of his art (he did give it to some of his close friends though out of love). In the past, Salman has gifted his paintings to celebrity friends like Kareena Kapoor Khan, Aami Khan, Asin, Kabir Khan and Mahesh Manjrekar. But never did he sell his art, despite getting so many offers.
In 2016, a Mumbai based businessman liked Salman Khan’s portrait of a mother and son locked in an embrace, and he offered a price of Rs 20 lakh to buy the painting. Salman Khan, however, rejected the offer because he thought the price offered was way too small. Despite repeated requests from the businessman, Salman refused to part ways with it; after all, the painting was very dear to him.
Several months later, Salman Khan was offered a whopping Rs 1 crore for the same painting (I guess potential buyers realised that Salman was not going to sell it for less). Salman, happy with the offer (he thought the painting finally got its worth) decided to sell it.
And guess what Salman did with that money? He invested the money back in his ‘Being Human’ foundation.
Following several similar offers, Salman Khan has now decided to sell some of his art works, the earnings of which will go to his ‘Being Human’ charity foundation.
British Indian bizwoman pays ₹2.4cr for painting that depicts Kohli’s IPL journey
Art by British artist Sacha Jafri bought by Scottish-Indian entrepreneur.
British Indian entrepreneur Poonam Gupta bought a painting depicting Virat Kohli’s IPL journey over 10 years for 2,90,000 pounds (approx Rs.2.4 crore).
The painting by award-winning British painter Sacha Jafri, went on sale during a recent charity dinner (held at the Royal Armory Club in London), which was organised by the Virat Kohli Foundation that supports underprivileged children.
Virat himself left his handprint in blue on the painting.
“What I like about this young generation of Indian cricketers is that they are responsible and want to make a difference on and off the field. I am very connected to the cause taken up by Virat. By buying this magnificent piece of art created by my favourite artist Sacha Jafri, I tick two boxes. I take a rare masterpiece home and also help this noble cause in my own way,” Poonam Gupta is the CEO of Scotland-based company PG Papers.
Just to clarify the painting I bought was for £290k not £2.9mn. Some mix up with the numbers. @imVkohli.
— Poonam Gupta OBE (@p_gupta01) June 13, 2017
In the past, Mr. Jafri has collaborated with the likes of David Beckham, M.S. Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh for their charities and social work.