Alec Wildenstein
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Alec Nathan Marcel Wildenstein (5 August 1940 – 18 February 2008) was a French-born American billionaire businessman, art dealer, racehorse owner, and
horse breeder Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...
.


Biography

Born in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
to Daniel and Martine Julie (Kapferer) Wildenstein, Alec Wildenstein was raised in New York City where his family owned and operated an art gallery. In 1875, his great-grandfather founded a business dealing in art. His father,
Daniel Wildenstein Daniel Leopold Wildenstein (11 September 1917 – 23 October 2001) was a French art dealer, historian and owner-breeder of thoroughbred and standardbred race horses. He was the third member of the family to preside over Wildenstein & Co., one of ...
, was a distinguished scholar of
impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. Upon his father's death in 2001, Alec Wildenstein inherited half of his father's business empire estimated at US$10 billion and included what was believed to be the world's largest private collection of major works of art.


Horse racing

Wildenstein enjoyed
thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
s for flat and
steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...
and
standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing where they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...
s for
harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...
. His Ecurie Wildenstein racing stable hired
Élie Lellouche Élie Lellouche (born 5 March 1952 in Tunis) is a French trainer of Thoroughbred racehorses and jockeys.Afrique magazine - Issues 150-159 - Page 63 1998 "Victory Mill n'a pas été très heureuse lors de sa réapparition à Maisons-Laffitte, en é ...
and Dominique Sepulchre to train his flat horses, and Jean-Paul Gallorini and Marcel Rolland for his steeplechase runners. Wildenstein raced a number of successful horses including: * Bright Sky – won the
Prix de Diane The Prix de Diane, sometimes referred to as the French Oaks, is one of the most important and prestigious Group 1 horse races in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at C ...
,
Prix de l'Opéra The Prix de l'Opéra is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,000 metres (about 1¼ miles) each ...
*
Aquarelliste {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Aquarelliste , image = , caption = , sire = Danehill , grandsire = Danzig , dam = Agathe , damsire = Manila , sex = Filly , foaled = 1998 , country = France , colour = Bay , breeder = Allez Fran ...
– won
Prix Vermeille The Prix Vermeille is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres (about 1½ miles) ...
, Prix de Diane,
Prix Ganay The Prix Ganay is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 2,100 metres (about 1 mile and 2½ furlongs) at L ...
* Westerner – won
Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4 ...
,
Prix du Cadran The Prix du Cadran is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 4,000 metres (about 2 miles), and it is scheduled to t ...
,
Prix Royal-Oak The Prix Royal-Oak is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs), an ...
, 2004 & 2005 European Champion Stayer *
Vallée Enchantée Vallée Enchantée (foaled 27 March 2000) is a retired thoroughbred racehorse bred in Ireland and trained in France. She won Hong Kong Vase and two group races in 2003. A very small horse, she weighed 813 pound Pound or Pounds may refer to: ...
– won the
Hong Kong Vase The Hong Kong Vase is a Conditions races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run each year in mid-December over a distance of 2,400 metres (about miles o ...
In 2004, Wildenstein's steeplechase runner, Kotkijet, owned in partnership with Jean-Pierre Dubois, won his second
Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris The Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris is a Group 1 steeplechase in France which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Auteuil over a distance of 6,000 metres, and during its running there are tw ...
.


Personal life

In 1977, his family purchased a 49% stake for Wildenstein in the first Ol Jogi Ranch on the
Laikipia District Laikipia District was a district of Kenya, located on the Equator in the Rift Valley Province of the country. The district had two major urban centres: Nanyuki to the southeast, and Nyahururu to the southwest. Its capital was Nanyuki. After being ...
in
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
. In 1985, the family acquired complete ownership. He met Jocelyne Périsset when she was a guest at Ol Jogi Ranch and they were married on 30 April 1978 in
Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. They had a daughter, Diane, followed by a son, Alec Jr. Their divorce proceedings between 1997 and 1999 gained wide media coverage for revelations about the couple's extravagant spending habits and the pressure he put on Jocelyne Wildenstein to undergo plastic surgery. In 2000, he married Russian-born model Liouba Stoupakova, who survived him.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wildenstein, Alec N. 1940 births 2008 deaths French art dealers French racehorse owners and breeders 20th-century French Jews Sportspeople from Marseille
Alec Alec or Aleck is a Scottish form of the given name Alex. It may be a shortened form of the name Alexander or a given name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People * Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat * Alec Acton ...
French billionaires Owners of Prix Ganay winners Businesspeople from Marseille