A CEO from France has suggested his government to sell the iconic painting Mona Lisa and use the funds to help the country recover from the financial crisis.
Just like the United States and many other countries in the world, European nation France has also been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak. With around 143000 cases in the country, the French economy has also been brought to the ground, and is in dire need of a recovery.
“Sell Mona Lisa for $ 55 Billion”
Stephane Distinguin, founder of Fabernovel, in conversation with a magazine said: “Day after day, we list the billions engulfed in this slump like children counting the fall of stone into a well to measure its depth. We are still counting, and this crisis seems unfathomable.”
He said the idea could be just like how a family sells jewellery during a crisis. He told: “A painting is easy to move and therefore to hand over. And we have a lot of paintings. In 2020, we have to get the money where it is. So sell family jewellery. The price is the crux of the matter and the main subject of controversy. The price has to be insane for the operation to make sense. I estimate that it would take no less than €50billion (£44.7 billion) to acquire the Mona Lisa. I was told that my estimate was very overvalued, even far-fetched, but each time without real arguments.”
Mona Lisa as a subscription service
The CEO suggest that Mona Lisa could be sold on a token basis, just like a subscription service. He further added: “Legally and technically, this solution would have many advantages: it would allow France and the Louvre to keep control of the painting. One can even imagine that this ploy would garner the assent of the great Leonardo da Vinci, he who painted but also mastered all the sciences and technologies of his time.”
Source: India Times
