Tycoon art collector Liu's treasure trove

[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese self-made billionaire Liu Yiqian, 52, has made headlines in the last few years, not for making big business deals but rather, for splashing out great sums of money at art auctions worldwide.

Liu’s latest spending spree is a Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) vase that cost him HK$113.9 million ($14.6 million) in Hong Kong. He defeated another seven bidders at Sotheby’s spring sale on April 7. He bought the vase in the name of the Shanghai Long Museum, which he co-founded with his wife Wang Wei.

The museum has two locations in Shanghai, and has displayed several of his collections which were auctioned off at record-breaking prices.