From time to time a news story hits the headlines about a particular painting coming to auction with an estimated sale price way beyond the pocket of all but the very wealthiest people in the world.

To the person in the street the figures discussed seem outlandish and even a little obscene. After all, couldn’t those millions of dollars be put to better use than in acquiring a couple of square feet of canvas?

For those who see their purchase as an investment the answer is a definitive no. While there are undoubted risks involved, buying rare masterpieces can be as good a way to invest as any other, whether it’s property, classic cars or fine wines.

And the fact that the mega rich agree can be seen by the amounts that they were happy to pay for these seven paintings.

Salvator Mundi by Leonardo Da Vinci
Bought for $450 million by Badr bin Abdullah al-Saud in 2017

To date this is the most that has ever been paid by a buyer for a painting. This is all the more remarkable because it wasn’t even attributed to Da Vinci until 2011 following six years of painstaking research by art historians. It’s believed that it was painted at around the same time as the Mona Lisa which, if it were to go on sale today, it’s thought it would reach $900 million at auction.

Interchange by Willem De Kooning
Bought for $300 million by Kenneth C Griffin in 2015

Abstract expressionism is considered to have been the very first movement in modern art in America with De Kooning one of its founders. His work is typified by violent and vivid brushstrokes and this work represents a change in subject matter for the artist. Previously best known for portraits, here he takes on amore abstract urban backdrop, although with the loosely detailed image of a woman at its center.

The Card Players by Paul Cézanne
Bought for $250 million by the State of Qatar in 2011

It would take an incredible winning streak at a game like blackjack to be able to afford the price paid by this masterpiece by the French post-impressionist Paul Cézanne. It’s one of a series of paintings with the same theme created by the artist in the 1890s, several of which are on display at art galleries around the world including the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Nafea Faa Ipoipo? by Paul Gauguin
Bought for $210 million by the State of Qatar in 2014

Gauguin is famous for his vibrant, colorful paintings of Tahiti and this is one of the finest examples. Sold for only 7 francs after his death in 1903 it was previously bought for $300 million by the Rudolf Staechelin Family Trust who then later had to absorb the $90 million loss – underlining how risky investing in art can sometimes be. Its title means “When will you marry?” to reflect the imagined conversation between the women in the picture.

Number 17A by Jackson Pollock
Bought for $200 million by Kenneth C Griffin in 2015

The billionaire hedge fund manager Kenneth C Griffin bought this in conjunction with Interchange in 2015 as he built up his private collection of abstract impressionism. The painting is a prime example of Pollock’s drip technique that many have subsequently tried to emulate. The medium is liquid synthetic resin on a composite board and is one of his earliest works in this style.

The Standard Bearer by Rembrandt
Bought for $192 million by the Rijksmuseum in 2022

One of the greatest of the Dutch masters, Rembrandt was never above a little self-promotion. So he produced this military self-portrait in the hope of receiving more commissions. His body of portraiture work shows it was a successful strategy. The Louvre had wanted to buy the painting when it came up for sale by the Rothschild family but couldn’t raise the money. Fortunately, the Rijksmuseum, aided by the Dutch government and the Rembrandt Association, could and it’s now on public display in the Amsterdam gallery.

Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by Andy Warhol
Bought for $195 by Larry Gargosian in 2022

The most famous name in the New York modern art scene was equally well-known for his fascination with icons of pop culture. He produced multiple prints of Marilyn Monroe in vibrant, contrasting colors of which this is just one. It’s known as a “shot” Marilyn as once, when visiting his studio, the performance artist Dorothy Podber drew out a gun and fired at the pictures. Far from destroying the pieces, this immediately increased their value.

So we await expectantly for the next great masterpiece to come on the art market to see if it can exceed the current $450 million record. Will it be a Van Gogh, or maybe a Monet? Perhaps a Hurst or an Emin? We’ll just have to wait and see!