# Seattleites on ARTnews' global art buyer list

> Eight Seattle-connected art collectors named in ARTnews' top 200 influential buyers.
- Title: Seattleites on ARTnews' global art buyer list · Seattletimes
- Summary: Eight Seattle-connected art collectors named in ARTnews' top 200 influential buyers. Eight Seattle residents and former residents are among ARTnews' most…
- Keywords: seattle, art, seattle art museum, art collectors, jeff bezos, howard schultz, melinda french gates, seattle art fair, news, local, Seattleites, ARTnews'
- Source: Seattletimes — https://seattletimes.com/entertainment/visual-arts/6-seattleites-listed-among-worlds-most-influential-art-buyers
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: seattle, art, seattle art museum, art collectors, jeff bezos, howard schultz, melinda french gates, seattle art fair, news, local
## Seattle art buyers on ARTnews list
Eight prominent Seattleites and former Seattleites are listed among ARTnews' annual top 200 art collectors.
## Jeff Bezos on list
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $370 billion, is listed among the world's most influential art buyers.
## Schultz family on list
Howard and Sheri Schultz, Starbucks co-founders, are listed among the world's most influential art buyers.
## Melinda French Gates on list
Melinda French Gates, businesswoman and philanthropist, is listed among the world's most influential art buyers.
## Philanthropist-collector couples
Lisa Goodman and Josef Vascovitz, and Jon and Kim Richter Shirley, are philanthropist-collector couples on the list.
## Goodman and Vascovitz
Goodman is a marketing executive at The Benaroya Company and Vascovitz is a nonprofit consultant and former Microsoft executive.
## Goodman and Vascovitz's collection
The couple has donated works to Seattle Art Museum, including Betye Saar's 'Cage in the Beginning' and Barbara Earl Thomas' 'A Fire in the Landscape'.
## Jon Shirley's relationship with SAM
Jon Shirley helped create Seattle's Olympic Sculpture Park and has donated over a hundred artworks to Seattle Art Museum.
## Bezos' art purchases
Bezos allegedly purchased Kerry James Marshall's 'Vignette 19' for $18.5 million and Ed Ruscha's 'Hurting the Word Radio #2' for $52.5 million.
## Schultz family's art preferences
Howard Schultz prefers contemporary art but his buying habits are not well documented.
## French Gates' art collection
Melinda French Gates, with a net worth of $34 billion, collects contemporary art after her divorce from Bill Gates.
## ARTnews list details
ARTnews' list spans five continents and includes billionaires, luxury magnates, and notable names from various industries.
## Art market trends
Ultra high net worth individuals allocate an average of 23% of their wealth to art despite representing a small fraction of global collectors.
## What happens next
It remains to be seen how Bezos, French Gates, the Schultzes, and Goodman and Vascovitz will manage their art collections over time.
## Key takeaway

Eight Seattle residents and former residents are among ARTnews' most influential global art buyers, including Jeff Bezos, Howard and Sheri Schultz, Melinda French Gates, and two philanthropist-collector couples.