Taikang Life Insurance, one of China’s biggest insurance companies, run by the grandson-in-law of Chairman Mao Zedong has bought a 13.5% stake in Sotheby’s, citing a “positive view” of the auction house as well as potential interest in a board seat, The Wall Street Journal reports. The move makes Taikang the largest shareholder of Sotheby’s, eclipsing stakes held by hedge-fund managers such as Third Point’s Dan Loeb, who owns 11.38%, and Point72 Asset Management’s Steven Cohen, who owns 5.5%. Taikang is run by Chen Dongsheng, who helped found the country’s first government-run auction house specializing in Chinese antiques and calligraphy. He is married to Mao’s granddaughter, Kong Dongmei.
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