Klimt's 1907 gold portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, lately acquired by the billionaire collector Ronald S. Lauder, reportedly for $135 million, is now aptly installed like a trophy head above the mantelpiece.

The billionaire collector does not appreciate the empty, vacuous spectacle which he buys a part of; either this is supreme humiliation, or supreme decadence.

An Artists' Lawyer,With a Fitting Collection At a time when the passion for classic contemporary art is fueled by a gaggle of billionaire collectors for whom money is no object, the collection of Lee V. Eastman coming up for sale at Christie's in November is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"I love running around and seeing important people like museum directors getting lost," said Alison Gingeras, curator for François Pinault, the French billionaire collector.

Walter H. Annenberg, the billionaire collector and then a member of the foundation's advisory committee, came up with the idea of a tour.

Much of his reporting was dedicated to the Russian art market, and he often covered the Russian auctions in London and New York, as well as interviewing Moscow's secretive billionaire collectors, and tracking their acquisitions.

In June, the billionaire collector Ronald Lauder bought the early portrait of Adele for $135 million on behalf of the Neue Galerie, his museum of German and Austrian art on the Upper East Side.

The billionaire collector who had hired them had demanded absolute discretion.

In 2006 Juilliard received a trove of precious music manuscripts from the billionaire collector and financier Bruce Kovner.

Instead, François Pinault, a billionaire French collector, obtained the Punta as the site for his own museum.