The Expensive Antics of China’s Gaudiest Billionaire

President Xi Jinping’s austerity drive has sent China’s high rollers running for cover, emptying casinos and golf courses as vin ordinaire becomes the new Chateau Lafite. Billionaire art collector Liu Yiqian doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo.

The Shanghai-based former taxi driver is on a buying binge that has left rivals gasping at auctions as he outbids all comers for ancient scrolls, Tibetan silk embroideries and imperial porcelain. He’s built and filled two museums with more than 2,300 works, including contemporary pieces by Jeff Koons and Yayoi Kusama. In the past year he’s spent more than $115 million picking up such treasures.