Helmut Horten profited during Nazi Germany by exploiting Jewish business under duress and later sold himself as a self-made man. Some of his wealth purchased his wife's jewelry, which is now up for auction.
EDnews informs via Dw that jewelry belonging to Austrian billionaire Heidi Horten — whose husband founded his fortune under the Nazi regime — is being auctioned on Wednesday despite criticism from several Jewish groups.
Christie's auction house plans to sell 700 pieces before the end of the year. The entire collection is estimated to be worth $150 million (€136.64 million). Some 152 jewels have been on the website for online sale since last week, and 96 pieces are being auctioned in person in Geneva on Wednesday, followed by another 154 on Friday.
The remaining 300 jewels are expected to be sold online in November 2023.
The collection includes rare pieces by 20th-century designers, including Bulgari, Harry Winston, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Their owner, Heidi Horten, died last year at 81 with a Forbes-estimated fortune of nearly $2.9 billion.
