Juan Antonio Pérez Simón (born 1941)Voici le plus grand collectionneur privé du monde.
Anne-Cécile Beaudoin, ''Paris Match'', 5 September 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2014. is a Spanish businessman and art collector, resident in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, who became rich in the

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

business.Quiet billionaire's Victorian art collection loaned to Leighton House.
Maev Kennedy, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 2 June 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014. Pérez Simón has assembled a collection of over 3000 paintings, including works by Dalí,

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, an ...

El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged compositions reference erudite aspects of clas ...

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

and

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

. In 2010, ''

Paris Match ''Paris Match'' () is a French-language weekly gossip magazine. It covers major national and international news along with celebrity lifestyle features. ''Paris Match'' has been considered "one of the world's best outlets for photojournalism". ...

'' described the collection as the largest in private hands in the world.

Early life and career

Pérez Simón was just 5 years of age when his family emigrated to Mexico. They were not wealthy. They travelled by sea in third class accommodation for 28 days before eventually arriving in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

after spending a month in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. Pérez Simón's father worked in the beverages business and his son educated himself in economics and accountancy. Pérez Simón met

Carlos Slim Carlos Slim Helú (; born 28 January 1940) is a Mexican business oligarch, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by ''Forbes'' business magazine. He derived his fortune from his e ...

when they were both young men. They went into business in 1976 as partners in the Carso Group with Pérez Simón taking a minority 30% stake. In May 2014, the firm had a stock market capitalisation of over US$12 billion.

Art collection

Pérez Simón's interest in art began as a teenager. He started collecting in his 20s, first prints and cheap Mexican landscape paintings as for some time he and his wife had little money. Today, Pérez Simón's collection includes works from the fourteenth century onwards but he does not enjoy

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

, feeling that it is too intellectual and lacks emotion. The Carso Group has its own collection and museum, and Pérez Simón coordinates with his partner Carlos Slim in order that they do not compete against each other for the same works. Pérez Simón claims never to refuse a request for a loan of one of his pictures.

''A Victorian Obsession''

From November 2014 to March 2015, fifty paintings owned by Pérez Simón were put on display at London's

Leighton House Museum The Leighton House Museum is an art museum and historic house in the Holland Park area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London. The building was the London home of painter Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton (1830–189 ...

in the exhibition ''A Victorian Obsession: The Pérez Simón collection''. The permanent collection of the museum was placed in storage to allow the works to be hung throughout the house. The selected works were those of Frederic Leighton and other important British Victorian painters, many of whom Leighton would have known, such as

Lawrence Alma-Tadema Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema ( ; born Lourens Alma Tadema, ; 8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter who later settled in the United Kingdom, becoming the last officially recognised Denization, denizen in 1873. Born in ...

, Albert Moore,

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti (12 May 1828 – 9 April 1882), generally known as Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( ; ), was an English poet, illustrator, painter, translator, and member of the Rossetti family. He founded the Pre-Raphaelite Brother ...

Edward Burne-Jones Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st Baronet, (; 28 August 183317 June 1898) was an English painter and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. Burne-Jones worked with William Morris as a founding part ...

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest s ...

John William Waterhouse John William Waterhouse (baptised 6 April 184910 February 1917) was an English painter known for working first in the Academic style and for then embracing the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. His paintings are known for ...

Edward Poynter Sir Edward John Poynter, 1st Baronet (20 March 183626 July 1919) was an English painter, designer, and Drawing, draughtsman, who served as President of the Royal Academy. Life Poynter was the son of architect Ambrose Poynter. He was born in P ...

John Melhuish Strudwick John Melhuish Strudwick (6 May 1849 in Clapham, London – 16 July 1937 in Hammersmith), was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter. Early life Strudwick was the son of William Strudwick (1808–1861) and Sarah Melhuish (1800–1862). He attended St ...

and John William Godward. The paintings were not labelled, in order that they fit in with the decor of the house. As part of the exhibition, Lawrence Alma-Tadema's '' The Roses of Heliogabalus'' (1888) was exhibited in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for the first time since Alma-Tadema's memorial exhibition at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in 1913.Exhibition Highlights.
Leighton House Museum. Retrieved 15 November 2014. In his review of the exhibition, Waldemar Januszczak of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', described the works included as "demented escapism" and Pérez Simón as "Mexico's richest lover of droopy damsels in distress and muscular Greek nymphettes"."No way to treat a lady", Waldemar Januszczak, "Culture", ''The Sunday Times'', 23 November 2014, pp. 20–21.

Works from the Pérez Simón collection

File:1869_Edward_Poynter_-_Andromeda.jpg, '' Andromeda''. Edward Poynter, 1869 File:Frederic-Lord-Leighton-Greek-girls-picking-up-pebbles-by-the-sea-1871.jpg, ''Greek Girls Picking up Pebbles by the Sea''. Frederic Leighton, 1871. File:John-Everett-Millais-The-Crown-of-Love-1875.jpg, ''The Crown of Love''. John Everett Millais, 1875. File:Frederick Goodall - The Finding of Moses.jpg, '' The Finding of Moses''. Frederick Goodall, 1885. File:The Roses of Heliogabalus.jpg, ''The Roses of Heliogabalus''. Lawrence Alma-Tadema, 1888. File:John Melhuish Strudwick in the Golden Days 1907.jpg, ''In the Golden Days''. John Melhuish Strudwick, 1907.

Family

Pérez Simón is married to Josefina. They have a daughter María José, married with Jorge, and two grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez Simon, Juan Antonio Living people Spanish billionaires 1941 births People from Asturias Spanish art collectors Spanish emigrants to Mexico 20th-century Spanish businesspeople 21st-century Spanish businesspeople