Christie’s has canceled the second sale of jewelry pieces belonging to Heidi Horten, an Austrian billionaire and art collector, and the widow of businessman Helmut Horten, according to a report in the Jewish Chronicle.
The first auction of Heidi Horten’s jewelry, which drew controversy and publicity over her Nazi-era fortune – raked in $156 million back in May.
Heidi inherited a fortune from Helmut Horten, “who bought department stores from Jewish businessmen under duress in 1930s Germany,” according to a previous report in IDEX Online. He died in 1987, and Heidi Horten’s personal fortune was estimated at $3 billion. She died in June 2022, aged 81.
Following numerous requests from Jewish groups to halt the sale, Christie’s decided to cancel the second auction of the collection. In an official statement, the auction house said: “Christie’s has taken the decision not to proceed with further sales of property from the Estate of Heidi Horten […] The reaction to it has deeply affected us and many others, and we will continue to reflect on it.”
