Fernando Botero is one of the worlds richest artists. His workshop which manages the production of monumental which are placed worldwide employs around 100 people – now that`s hard to imagine – in Italy, so we are talking about paying people in euros not pesos!
With an average wage of around €20.000 per year then thats over €2.000.000 on wages alone – wow! I bet even Damien Hirst doesn`t get close to that sum for the people he employs. Anyway – to pay out so much money (and I would suggest that that sum could be doubled in relation to purchase of bronze and traveles and exhibition expenses etc) Mr Fernando Botero obviously has to generate quite a tidy sum of cash each year. I would suggest that it might be around USD $10-20.000.000. Big business indeed.
So . . . . . .
What Does Botero Do With All His Money?
Well he obviously has a very enjoyable lifestyle, but just recently it was revealed that Botero actually gives a lot of cash away. He is a philanthropist. Not perhaps in the league of Gates or Buffet but he is actually very generous with his cash.
Let me list a few items:
- Botero Prize for Art (annual) : USD $50.000
- He set up a Senior Home for older poor elder people in Bogota:Est. $300.000
- He set up a system to pay for children’s food in the poor Choco province :Est. $20.000 / year
- He donated $200.000.000 worth of artwork to Colombia for its people to enjoy.
Botero’s philanthropy, in fact, was often low-profile and most Colombians, apart form his museum donation and art prize would not be aware of his other philanthropic work. He most truly is a most wonderful person.
You can read more about this story and an interview by Daniel Chang with Botero at the link below.
Botero Interview on his Philanthropy
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Find out more on Botero:
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