Steve Cohen, the hedge-fund billionaire and owner of one of the most expensive art portfolios in the world, has reportedly built a six per cent stake in auction house Sotheby’s for his company SAC Capital. This makes him Sotheby’s third-largest shareholder. The son of a garment executive, Cohen began his career at Gruntal & Co in 1978, and established himself as a star trader on Wall Street.

Cohen’s art collection includes a Manet self-portrait, one of Jackson Pollock’s classic drip paintings and Damien Hirst’s infamous shark submerged in a tank of formaldehyde. Each to their own.