Who

The most powerful figure on the contemporary art scene, Gagosian owns a stable of galleries in New York, Los Angeles, London and Rome, and reps A-list artists like Jeff Koons, Damien Hirst, John Currin, and Richard Serra.

Backstory

The son of an accountant and small-time actress, Gagosian grew up in Los Angeles and attended UCLA before taking a job in the mail room at William Morris, where he toiled alongside future client David Geffen. Gagosian's first brush with the art world was anything but glamorous: Determined to earn some decent money, he started peddling reproduction posters, purchasing each one for $2, placing it in a cheap aluminum frame, and then selling it for $15. But he soon turned his eye to the higher-end of the market, opening a gallery in LA and eventually advising wealthy collectors on their acquisitions.

Gagosian first established a presence on the New York scene in the late '70s, when he teamed up with Annina Nosei to display works from a loft in SoHo. (Gagosian purchased the place for $10,000 and a Brice Marden painting.) By the early '80s, Gagosian emerged as one of the hottest dealers in town, known for his close ties to rising stars like Jean-Michel Basquiat, whom Gagosian met shortly after his debut show in 1981. (In his coke-induced frenzy, Basquiat was creating canvases just about as quickly as Gagosian could sell them to eager collectors.) Gagosian moved his entire operation to New York in 1985, renovating a truck dock on West 23d Street to set up his first gallery. But it was Gagosian's relationship with Leo Castelli, the famed gallerist who repped the likes of Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Roy Lichtenstein, that really vaulted him to the top of the scene. Castelli helped introduce the aggressive young upstart to wealthy moguls, and Gagosian soon found himself bidding on behalf of some of the biggest collectors in town (earning the nickname "Go-Go" for his salesmanship in the process).

Gagosian expanded his business substantially in the 1990s and opened several new spaces. Today he presides over three galleries in New York, two in London, two in Los Angeles, and one in Rome.

Of note

Gagosian's pursuit of art world dominance has paid off: He's widely considered to be the most influential player on the contemporary art scene and is generally believed to be the wealthiest gallerist, with estimated earnings of $30 million in 2005. Over the years, he's helped build the collections of a long list of moguls like Eli Broad, Charles Saatchi, Si Newhouse, Ron Perelman, David Geffen, Aby Rosen, Francois Pinault, Steve Cohen, Steve Schwarzman, and Dave Ganek. But Gagosian has managed to earn trust from artists as well and boasts an artist roster that's second to none: Damien Hirst, Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, John Currin, Richard Serra, Richard Prince, Ed Ruscha, Julian Schnabel, and Mike Kelley.

Of course, it wasn't just charm and luck that got Gagosian to the top of the pack. A canny operator, master salesman, and obsessive workaholic, he's long had a reputation for aggressive tactics, and he's built his artist roster over the years by carefully picking off top-tier talents affiliated with other galleries and luring them into the fold with promises of more exposure and more money. (One of his most high-profile steals in recent years was John Currin, who ditched Andrea Rosen to join Gagosian.) His hardball approach has earned him plenty of detractors, particularly among less business-minded members of the art establishment who bristle at his relentless focus on market dynamics. He's had plenty of ugly encounters with collectors and artists, too, a number of whom vowed never to do business with him again.

Legal file

In 2003, the U.S government filed suit against Gagosian and several of his business partners (including Peter Brant) for $26.5 million in back taxes and penalties, after it was alleged that art sales were structured using a shell corporation to avoid paying taxes. The investigation was set off by Sam Waksal—the imprisoned founder of ImClone, and the man whose corporate malfeasance ensnared Martha Stewart—who admitted to the authorities that he had managed to acquire art from Gagosian without paying taxes on the purchases. Gagosian settled the case in 2004 for an undisclosed amount.

Personal

Although there have been occasional rumors over the years about Gagosian's sexual orientation, the secretive, silver-haired gallerist has the reputation—publicly at least—of a ladies' man. A sensitive boyfriend, though, he most certainly isn't: He reportedly once broke up with a girlfriend by asking her to bring over a takeout meal, shutting the door in her face when she arrived, and then retreating indoors to eat the food with his newest flame. Never married, Gagosian did come close to tying the knot once. In the mid-70s, he was engaged to Catherine Kerr, a dancer for the Merce Cunningham group.

Habitat

Gagosian lives in a townhouse on the Upper East Side that was originally designed for Christophe de Menil, the fashion designer and Schlumberger heiress; it features a one-lane indoor swimming pool. He spends weekends in East Hampton at his vast Toad Hall estate, which was purchased from Chrisophe's brother, Francois de Menil, for $8 million in 1988. The 11,000-square-foot Charles Gwathmey house rests on a 12-acre property; the property also features a pool, croquet lawn, screening room, and tennis court. You'll find a Richard Serra sculpture in front and Gagosian's collection of cars—including his red Ferrari—parked in the garage.

No joke

Sonic Youth guitarist Kim Gordon worked for Gagosian back when he was selling posters in LA. "He was such an asshole. He used to yell at us. It was a painful, awful experience working for him. He was very mean."