9 Warren Buffett Bought $1 Billion Stake in ActivisionWeeks Before Microsoft Deal Billionaire Warren Buffett, who is currently the sixth richest man in the world, allegedly purchased a $1 billion stake in Activision Blizzard just weeks before the video game company was bought by tech giant Microsoft. According to the Financial Times, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Buffett purchased the substantial stake just weeks before the record-breaking acquisition, estimated to be worth $68.7 billion, was completed. In 2022, Activision shares are up 23% to $81.50, though remain notably below the proposed $95 per share takeover price due to potential antitrust concerns. In the past, Buffett has said his decades-long friendship with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was a reason for him to never buy stock in the company. “I try to stay away from a few things just totally because the inference would be drawn,” Buffett once said at the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting, as reported by The Wall Street Journal at the time. However, in 2020, Gates ended his 16-year run on Berkshire’s board and, in 2021, Buffett resigned as a trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. MONTHLY ROUND - UP Christie’s Offers Rare Opportunity to Purchase $30 Million Basquiat Triptych For the first time ever, auction house Christie’s is bringing a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat to the open market. Basquiat’s 1982 triptych Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict (1982) will be offered in Christie’s contemporary art evening sale. Bidding for the painting — which is almost seven-foot wide — will start at around $30 million according to a Christie’s spokesperson. However, an estimate is only available upon request. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict is a threepart painting on a wood panel. The painting alludes to Basquiat’s fame with several references to death. At the bottom of the painting’s middle panel, the word “Morte” is written above the image of the Cross. In another section of the painting, Basquiat’s recurring motif — the outline of a crown — can be seen. Basquiat died in 1988 at the age of 27. In the past year, the prices of his work have seen a rapid rise. Only seven works by the artist have been auctioned for more than $30million, with three of these having been sold in the last year. While Christie’s contemporary art evening sale is set to take place inMay, the auction house is yet to confirm a date for the sale of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Derelict. Photo: Wikicommons - USA International Trade Administration
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk3Mzkz