Sotheby's vs Christie's | Going Once | 1
Business Wars
Audible
4.6 • 13.5K Ratings
🗓️ 14 December 2022
⏱️ 40 minutes
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Summary
It’s 1983 and shopping mall tycoon Alfred Taubman buys a struggling Sotheby’s, excited by the opportunity to revitalize the art auction market and increase competition with the company’s longtime rival, Christie’s.
But when the 1990s dawn, a slumping economy spells trouble for both auction houses. Sotheby’s and Christie’s hatch a plan to surreptitiously work together to increase profits for both companies, a decision that will have fateful consequences.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, prime members, you can binge all three episodes of Sotheby's versus Christie's |
| 0:05.0 | Add Free on Amazon Music. |
| 0:07.0 | Download the app today. |
| 0:12.0 | April 30, 1993. |
| 0:23.0 | A posh flat in London's Mayfair neighborhood. |
| 0:26.0 | Alfred Tobman sits in an armchair sipping tea. |
| 0:30.0 | He's the 69-year-old American chairman of one of the world's largest auction houses, Sotheby's. |
| 0:36.0 | He smiles at his guest, Sir Anthony Tennant, the Brit who's recently been appointed Chairman of the Auction House Christie's, Sotheby's biggest rival. |
| 0:45.0 | But beneath Tobman's friendly facade is a shrewd businessman, credited with saving Sotheby's from ruin a decade earlier. |
| 0:54.0 | The two-manor competitors, their rivalry, goes back centuries. |
| 0:59.0 | Tobman starts by scolding Tennant. |
| 1:02.0 | Anthony, the disparaging comments need to stop. |
| 1:06.0 | Why is Christie's always taking shots at Sotheby's in the press? |
| 1:10.0 | Tennant peers at Tobman through his square rim toward a show Glasses. |
| 1:14.0 | His aristocratic lineage evident in the dapper way he conducts himself. |
| 1:19.0 | He's all business, while Tobman's got a more amiable, friendly nature. |
| 1:24.0 | Tobman's parents lost everything in the Great Depression. |
| 1:28.0 | And while he is now very wealthy and successful, a certain down-to-earth air remains. |
| 1:34.0 | Tennant, stiffens. |
| 1:36.0 | Well Alfred, why do you make yourself such an easy target? |
| 1:40.0 | We see right through your game, cosying up to potential clients by making generous donations to their favorite charities. |
| 1:47.0 | It's a disgrace. |
... |
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