A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
A $484 million art loan secured by billionaire Leon Black and disclosed in the latest Epstein files highlights one of the fastest-growing and most lucrative corners of the art world.
According to a March 2015 document released as part of the Epstein files, Black secured the loan from Bank of America backed by works of art. While not unusual for top private banking clients, the loan made headlines for its size and the exotic collateral, which included blue-chip works by Picasso, Giacometti, Titian, Matisse and others.
Art lending, however, has become an increasingly valuable tool for both wealthy collectors and the wealth management firms vying to manage their fortunes. The global market for art loans is estimated at between $38 billion and $45 billion today, according to a report from Deloitte and ArtTactic. The market is expected to top $50 billion by 2028, growing at about 12% a year.
Adam Chinn, managing partner of International Art Finance and longtime art-finance expert, said art loans are a way for collectors to pull cash from paintings that they can also continue to enjoy on their walls.
Epstein files highlight how the wealthy borrow against art collections
