AmericaThe New York billionaire returned 180 works of art and antiquities stolen from all over the world worth tens of millions of dollars.
An official from the New York Department of Justice announced on December 6 that the 80-year-old famous art collector and billionaire Michael Steinhardt had not been charged, but had been banned from buying antiques on the legal art market for life.
Steinhardt agreed to return hundreds of works of art and antiquities, including several million dollars worth of Greek stag head Greek vases from 400 BC worth 3.5 million dollars, and ancient Greek wine from 1200 BC to 1400 BC urn.

Michael Steinhardt, New York billionaire, 2010. Photo: Agence France-Presse
Manhattan Attorney General Cyrus said: “For decades, Michael Steinhardt has shown a strong desire for stolen cultural objects, regardless of whether his actions are legal or not, whether the items he buys and sells are legal, or the misfortune he has caused globally. Cultural damage.” After years of investigation, Vance’s office said in a statement.
Vance said that the New York financier’s net worth is estimated at 1.2 billion U.S. dollars. “It doesn’t care about geographical boundaries or morality. This is reflected in the huge underworld of antique dealers, criminals and criminals. He relies on it for crime, money laundering, and serious robbery. Expand his collection.”
Investigators repeatedly raided Steinhard’s hedge fund office and Fifth Avenue apartment. Attorneys from the Ministry of Justice must track stolen items and confiscate some items from museums, private collections, or auction houses in order to return them to the rightful owners in multiple locations, including Lebanon, Pakistan, and Italy.
Steinhardt was a major donor to institutions such as New York University and the Metropolitan Museum, and he named a gallery after him. The value of the cultural relics returned by the American billionaire is estimated at 70 million U.S. dollars.
Vance said: “The 180 items will be immediately returned to the rightful owners in 11 countries, instead of holding them as evidence for many years to complete the prosecution, trial, conviction, and sentence.”
Hong Han (follow Agence France-Presse)