Esther Grether

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The Swiss Esther Grether (* 1936 as Esther Kast ) is one of the most important art collectors for contemporary and modern art . Her private collection comprises over 600 works and is estimated at over 700 million francs. The Grether family has been on the list of the 300 richest Swiss people since 2016. Her assets amount to 1,750 million francs (2019, 95th place).

Entrepreneur

Esther Grether took over the management of Doetsch Grether AG in 1975 as delegate of the board of directors. The Basel-based company is active in the field of marketing and sales of products in the pharmaceutical , OTC and consumer care sectors and includes well-known brands such as Grether's Pastilles , Tiger Balm and neo-angin . Esther Grether came to the company as a secretary and later married the company patron, Hans Grether. After his death in 1975 she took over the company management and became the company owner. In 2016 Esther Grether and her two children Suzanne and Hans Christophe withdrew from the company.

Esther Grether also sat on the Board of Directors of the Swatch Group . She did not stand for re-election in 2014 for health reasons. The Grether family continues to hold a block of shares of over four percent in the Swatch Group.

Art collection

Esther Grether's art collection comprises 600 works, the total value of which is estimated at over 700 million francs. The collection includes works by well-known artists such as Picasso , Paul Cézanne , Salvador Dalí , Francis Bacon , Ferdinand Hodler , Georges Braque or Félix Henri Giacomotti's gaunt wanderer, Louise Bourgeois spiders and Bruce Nauman's light figures. In 2014 Esther Grether was one of the top 200 international art collectors.

The collection is located at Esther Grether's private residence in Basel and for a long time was only accessible to selected visitors. In 2014 she gave with the publication of the book Affinité élective. Elective affinity. The Esther Grether Collection for the first time to a broad public insight into the comprehensive collection. In autumn 2019, 19 works were exhibited on loan at the Basel Art Museum - including well-known works such as a surrealist picture by Salvador Dali, an impressionist painting by Paul Cézanne, characteristic drawings and sculptures by Alberto Giacometti and a set of bizarre works by René Magritte .

Individual proof

  1. ↑ a b c Manfred Gärtner: Esther Grethers Universum. In: Switzerland at the weekend. Switzerland on the weekend, May 3, 2014, accessed on April 30, 2020 (Swiss Standard German).
  2. ↑ a b c Family Grether. In: Handelszeitung. November 2019, accessed April 30, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Our most important brands at Doetsch Grether AG. Accessed April 30, 2020 .
  4. ↑ The history of Doetsch Grether AG. Accessed April 30, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Michael Heim: Gold, money and shares for the young Grethers. In: Handelszeitung. September 21, 2016, accessed April 30, 2020 .
  6. ↑ 2014 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders - Swatch Group. Accessed April 30, 2020 .
  7. ↑ # 1415 Billionaires 2020. In: Forbes. 2020, accessed on April 30, 2020 (English).
  8. ↑ Life's work of an art collector. In: Balance. February 4, 2014, accessed April 30, 2020 .
  9. ↑ Top200. Retrieved April 30, 2020 (American English).
  10. ↑ Esther Grether presents her valuable art collection for the first time. In: Basler Zeitung. May 4, 2014, accessed on April 30, 2020 (Swiss Standard German).
  11. ↑ Christian Mensch: Grether Art Collection: Guest performance at the Basel Art Museum is fueling speculation. In: Basler Zeitung. September 19, 2019, accessed on April 30, 2020 (Swiss Standard German).
personal data
SURNAME Grether, Esther
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kast, Esther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss entrepreneur and art collector
DATE OF BIRTH 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Basel