Heidi Horten

Horten inherited her wealth upon the death of her husband, the founder of the German department store business Horten AG.[2] Horten met her husband when she was 19; he was 32 years older than her.[2] Horten was part of the board of Helmut Horten Stiftung, a charitable foundation that supports various healthcare related institutions, funds medical research, and helps individuals in need.[2]

Luxury yacht Carinthia VII (owned by Heidi Horten, Austria) in Venice

Horten divided her time between Vienna, Austria, and Ticino, Switzerland, when in Europe, and Lyford Cay in the Bahamas.[2] Horten owned the Carinthia VII, a 315-foot yacht. She enjoyed hunting and art collecting. Horten sold the 35.56 carat Wittelsbach Diamond, formerly part of the Crown Jewels of Bavaria, for $24 million in 2008.[2]

In August 2019, it emerged that Horten had donated almost one million euros in 2018 and in 2019 to the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP).[3]

Horten amassed an art collection of over 500 works, which included paintings by Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Georg Baselitz, and Yves Klein.[4] In 2018, 170 works from the Heidi Horten Collection were exhibited at Leopold Museum in Vienna.[5] Her jewellery collection is being auctioned by Christie's in May 2023.[6][7]

In 2019, Horten announced plans to open a private museum, having bought a 155-year-old, 2,000 m² (22,000 sq ft) mansion in Vienna to house the collection.[4] Designed by architects Marie-Therese Harnoncourt-Fuchs and Ernst Fuchs,[8] the museum opened to the public in 2022.[9]

• Kronsteiner, Olga (12 June 2022). "Milliardärin Heidi Goëss-Horten gestorben". Der Standard (in German). Retrieved 13 June 2022.
• Kahlweit, Cathrin (12 June 2022). "Heidi Goëss-Horten gestorben: Ein Leben für die Kunst". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 13 June 2022.