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Legal fees

Japanese Billionaire's Art Collection to be Sold to Settle $50 Million Debt

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Japanese art collector and "Pachinko King" Kazuo Okada is selling his prized art collection to settle a $50 million legal bill owed to his law firm, Bartlit Beck, following a dispute with casino mogul Steve Wynn. The collection, valued at over $50 million, includes masterworks of Asian art, such as a rare Qianlong "Eight Treasures" vase and Katsushika Hokusai's iconic woodblock print "The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa." The artworks, totaling 125 lots, will be sold at auction by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on November 22.

Key Takeaways:

  • Kazuo Okada, known as the "Pachinko King," is selling his art collection to settle a $50 million debt to his law firm, Bartlit Beck.
  • The collection includes a rare Qianlong "Eight Treasures" vase, a large Northern Song Ru "guanyao" bowl, and Katsushika Hokusai's iconic woodblock print "The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa."
  • The artworks, totaling 125 lots, will be sold at auction by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on November 22.
  • The Sotheby's sale includes masterworks of Asian art, such as late Shang ritual bronzes, Qing imperial porcelain, Japanese screens, and Korean ceramics.
  • The Okada museum, located in the dense forest surrounding Hakone, opened in 2013 as a showcase for Okada's collection of several hundred works.
  • Okada and Steve Wynn became friends and formed Wynn Resorts in 2002, but their relations soured, leading to a dispute and the sale of Wynn's Mirage Resorts to MGM Grand.

Statistics:

  • The collection includes 325 works of art, of which 125 will be sold at auction in Hong Kong.
  • The estimated value of the artworks is over $50 million.
  • The rare Qianlong "Eight Treasures" vase is expected to draw bids in excess of $5 million.
  • Katsushika Hokusai's woodblock print "The Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa" is considered one of the most famous Japanese woodblock prints in the world.
  • The British Museum has three impressions of "The Great Wave" in its collection, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has four, and Maidstone Museum (UK) has one.

Sources:

  • "The New York Times" article by Robin Pogrebin
  • Court records and arbitration award
  • Sotheby's press release regarding the auction sale
  • Kiuko Notoya's reporting from Japan for "The New York Times"

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