Japanese Fashion Tycoon Yusaku Maezawa Is Auctioning His Art Collection Because He Has "No Money"

Japanese fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa took to Twitter to announce the auctioning of part of his art collection because he has no money. The founder and CEO of Japanese online fashion retailer ZOZO posted two pictures in his tweet: an Ed Ruscha painting worth an estimated $2-3 million USD, and an Andy Warhol flowers painting worth an estimated $1.5-2 million USD. The auction will take place May 16 at Sotheby’s in New York and will include more works from the tycoon’s personal collection.

When asked by another Twitter user whether the sale was because he ran out of money, ZOZO’s founder replied “Yes, I never have any money because I always spend it.” This might not come as a surprise since the publicity-seeking CEO has often spent stellar amounts, such as signing up to be the first private passenger on a SpaceX trip to the Moon and purchasing a Jean-Michel Basquiat painting for $110 million USD.

As to ZOZO, a series of corporate mishaps has led to its stock value to drop by more than half, a hard-hitting event for Maezawa.

For more fashion news, check out our feature on why Virgil Abloh’s appointment at Louis Vuitton is only the beginning of the combat against industry racism.

アート作品を5月16日のサザビーズオークションに数点出品します。大切に引き継いでくださる方にお譲りします。 pic.twitter.com/WcxsY0ige8

— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) 前澤友作 (@yousuck2020) May 4, 2019