Billionaire François Pinault US$170m Art Museum to Open in Paris in June 2020

French billionaire François Pinault has announced that his new private museum, Bourse de Commerce—Pinault Collection, will open in June 2020. The museum will showcase works of contemporary art collection of François Pinault, which consists of about 5,000 works by artists such as Jeff Koons, Cy Twombly, and Cindy Sherman.

François Pinault’s private museum is situated in the 130-year-old Bourse de Commerce, Paris’s former stock exchange, which will reopen as a contemporary art museum in June 2020. The transformation is undertaken by Pritzker Prize-winning architect, Tadao Ando, and is estimated to cost around US$170 million.

The new museum will be near the Louvre and the Pompidou Center. During an interview with the New York Times earlier this year, Pinault said that he wants his museum “to be a place to show the art of today” and it “could be an interesting complement to existing institutions”.

According to Jean-Jacques Aillagon, the billionaire’s cultural adviser and a former French culture minister, the Bourse will stage around 10 shows a year, featuring works from Pinault’s collection as well as loans. The museum will team up with the Pompidou in late 2020 for an exhibition of a world-famous male artist.


The Bourse is going to be François Pinault’s third museum, in addition to his two spaces in Venice: Palais Grassi and Punta della Dogana. It will be Paris’s second billionaire-funded art space after the Fondation Louis Vuitton, which opened in 2014 by another French business magnate Bernard Arnault, who is often portrayed as Pinault’s rival.

Palais Grassi, Venice

Punta della Dogana, Venice


Both French billionaires made headlines this April as Francois Pinault pledged €100m to help rebuild the historic landmark Notre Dame Cathedral hours after the catastrophic fire. The following day Bernard Arnault said he would offer €200m for the reconstruction of Notre Dame. (See details: Christie’s Owner François-Henri Pinault Pledges €100m to Rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral After the Catastrophic Fire)

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 83-year-old Francois Pinault is the world’s 22nd richest person with a net worth estimated at US$35.3 billion. Pinault is also known as the founder of the luxury group Kering which owns luxury brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Boucheron, Brioni and Pomellato. Pinault also founded the investment company Artémis which owns the fine arts auction house Christie's.