ExcessvsNeed
Excess

Liu Yiqian & Wang Wei's $45M Art Buy

Liu Yiqian & Wang Wei · Paid $45 Million for a 15th-century Tibetan Tapestry

$45 million
Need

Could have saved

8,182

lives from malaria

GiveWell estimates its top charities save a life for $3,000 to $5,500. We use the higher figure: $5,500, the cost through Against Malaria Foundation bed nets. GiveWell, How much does it cost to save a life?

Forbes reported Liu Yiqian and Wang Wei's collection included a Tibetan tapestry acquired the prior year for $45 million.

Or it could have

  1. 8,182

    lives from malariaGiveWell estimates its top charities save a life for $3,000 to $5,500. We use the higher figure: $5,500, the cost through Against Malaria Foundation bed nets. GiveWell, How much does it cost to save a life?

  2. 410,959

    hungry kids for a whole yearNo Kid Hungry: $1 can help provide 10 meals for kids. Three meals a day for 365 days is 1,095 meals, about $110 per child per year. No Kid Hungry, What your dollars can do

  3. 1.1 million

    people clean drinking watercharity: water: about $40 funds clean water for one person, on average, in rural communities. charity: water, How much clean water will my donation provide

  4. 2,522

    homeless veteransAt the U.S. median rent of $1,487 a month (Census, 2024), about $17,844 a year. U.S. Census Bureau median gross rent, via USAFacts

  5. 1,261

    families escaping abuse a safe home for two yearsThe federal transitional housing program for survivors pays market rent for up to 24 months. At the U.S. median rent of $1,487 a month (Census, 2024), that is about $35,688 per family. U.S. DOJ Office on Violence Against Women, Transitional housing

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Liu Yiqian & Wang Wei's $45M Art Buy, $45 million, vs 8,182 lives from malaria

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The purchase: Forbes, November 2015. The full story on Rich vs Reality →