A trial in September will determine whether the family and their associates owe huge tax bills. The Wildensteins were last pursued by prosecutors several years ago, with Guy facing €616 million in unpaid taxes, a €250 million fine, and €866 million in damages. I was looking for The consequences can cause more than the collapse of the family’s art empire. The lawsuit offered a rare look at how the ultra-wealthy are using the art market to evade taxes and, in some cases, do worse. Investigators searching Wildenstein’s archives uncover long-reported missing art, suggesting that the family had looted or otherwise stolen art from the Nazis. Speculation that he may have owned the property has spurred a number of other lawsuits against the family in recent years. The financial strain has saved the family hundreds of millions of dollars, prosecutors say, but Sylvia’s treatment could cost more, possibly leading to the downfall of the dynasty.
in order to To prove that Alec and Guy misled Sylvia about her husband’s wealth, Dumont Beghi first had to find out what assets they were reporting. But Sylvia had renounced her inheritance, so she didn’t even have the right to know that information about her. “All deeds, all bank statements, all inventory items in the estate, and all documents relating to Daniel Wildenstein’s heirs are in Guy and Alec’s hands,” said Dumont. Begi says, and they weren’t going to hand them over.
So Dumont Beghi’s first step was to ask the court to nullify the agreement Sylvia signed to renounce the inheritance. Only then did she have access to details about Daniel’s estate. Fortunately, she had a compelling precedent to set before the judge. Sylvia wasn’t the first wife the Wildensteins tried to break up by complaining of poverty. Alec’s first wife, Jocelyn Wildenstein, was similarly stripped of her family fortune in a 1999 divorce, with Alec claiming to have been her father’s unpaid personal assistant. . The family’s art collection was valued at about $10 billion, according to documents uncovered in a New York courthouse, where the couple lived primarily. The judge in the case said Alec’s income statement “insults the intelligence of the court.” Rumor has it that he settled for $3.8 billion, making it the largest divorce settlement in New York history. (Joseline denied the settlement was $3.8 billion, but admitted it was “huge.”)
Dumont Beghi has reason to suspect that if the family was worth billions at the time, Daniel, who orchestrated Alec and Jocelyn’s deal, died in ruinous debt just two years later. claimed to be. A French court has ordered Guy and Alec to hand over the declaration of Daniel’s estate. This included several properties in France, a few cars, a painting and a bank account, which amounted to his €42 million. Dumont Beghi said he didn’t believe the figure was anywhere near the true value of the property, but that it was still “nothing for someone who died penniless”. And that, Dumont Beghi concluded, indicated that Sylvia had renounced her inheritance under false pretenses.
Dumont Beghi’s next move was to obtain Daniel’s medical records. She learned that he had spent his final days in an unresponsive vegetative coma. Yet she seems to have struck a deal to sell 69 thoroughbreds (including Sylvia) to her sons at bargain prices. In 2005, the court granted Sylvia’s request to vacate the waiver. It was just the beginning of what Dumont Begui called her international “treasure hunt” to search for all the hidden masterpieces, undeclared property, and offshore accounts left in Daniel’s estate. I did.
