The Legacy Brands Proving American Fashion Is Still a Family Business
As American fashion grows up, these eight companies show how ownership passes to the next generation after a label becomes a global business.
Her Great-Grandfather Founded a Jewelry Dynasty. She’s Building Something It Never Had.
Haverhill Leach is a fifth-generation name and a first-generation jeweler, and the gap between those two things is her whole story.
With an Inherited Watch Collection, Doing Less Is the Smartest Move
Inherited collections are one of the places where historically or horologically significant watches tend to surface, according to specialists from Sotheby’s and Phillips, making due diligence vital.
Weekly Features
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The Reclusive Billionaire Behind Lidl Is Germany’s Richest Person
Germany’s richest person has quietly transformed Lidl’s parent company into a sprawling business empire stretching from discount groceries to recycling, cloud computing and A.I.
Leslie Lewis Sigler On Turning Heirlooms into Portraits of a Life
She treats each object in her paintings not as a mere item but as a human-like individual with its own story and thoughts.
The Heirlooms of 2080 Are Being Made Today
Serpentine Jewels’ Ali Galgano explores how today’s jewelry becomes tomorrow’s heirlooms, examining why collectors are increasingly drawn to bespoke design, personal provenance, unusual gemstones and pieces built to endure.
From Newport to Watch Hill: How Rhode Island Perfected the Art of Summering
Rhode Island’s seaside towns have spent generations turning a seasonal escape into a full-fledged way of life.
Nine Dynastic Sagas That Consider the Architecture of Inherited Power
Spanning Renaissance Florence, Jackie Onassis’s Manhattan and 1990s Morocco, these titles trace what happens when wealth and legacy become inseparable.
Business
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In the Agentic A.I. Era, Data Control Becomes a Product Advantage
Liquid AI’s Jeffrey Li unpacks why data control will become a defining competitive advantage as A.I. agents become more proactive and personalized. Li makes the case for treating data architecture as a core product decision, not an afterthought to privacy or compliance.
The New Philanthropy Power Brokers Are Fandoms
Alltroo’s Kyle Rudolph examines why the traditional model of celebrity and athlete philanthropy is reaching its limits as small-dollar donor participation declines. The future of giving, Rudolph argues, depends on treating fan communities as active philanthropic networks capable of sustaining charitable organizations.
Who Owns Mars? Inside the $129B Reclusive Family Behind the Candy Empire
Five generations after Frank C. Mars began making candy in his kitchen, his descendants remain among America’s wealthiest families.
Six of the World’s Richest People Who Are Not Leaving Billions to Their Children
Some of the world’s wealthiest individuals have no plans to pass on their wealth to the next generation.
Larry Ellison’s Decades-Long Obsession With Competitive Sailing
Larry Ellison’s decades in competitive sailing led from America’s Cup victories to SailGP, now a global league with 13 privately owned teams.
Art
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One Fine Show: The Holy See’s “The Ear is the Eye of the Soul” at Giardino Mistico
The exhibition is a sonic prayer organized around Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), presented by the Holy See and curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers.
In Liang Fu’s Latest Work, a Vision of Humanity Touched by Relentless Entropy
“The human condition is still the main topic of my observation. It is about our living conditions today, which is something we cannot avoid, politically or geologically.”
The Continuing Reinvention of Willem de Kooning
“Willem de Kooning Drawing” at the Art Institute of Chicago reveals the artist as a master draftsman across seven decades of work.
Art, Death and Taxes: What Collectors Need to Know About Creating a Legacy That Lasts
Without a will or a plan, even a museum-quality collection can become kindling for tax fires and family feuds.
The Runway-Ready Fashion of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Is Coming to Christie’s
With pieces including Miranda Priestly’s Dries Van Noten and Schiaparelli jackets and Andy Sachs’ stained Gabriela Hearst dress and iconic cerulean sweater, you can “get your gorgeous on in time for fall,” according to Meryl Streep.
Lifestyle
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Liwei Liao Creates a Tasting Menu of His Own at The Butcher’s Counter
Dry-aged fish guru Liwei Liao has influenced how elite chefs all over the country serve seafood. Now Liao, who’s sold
Basket Case: How the Nantucket Lightship Bag Became the Ultimate Island Status Symbol
Once an if-you-know-you-know accessory, the Nantucket lightship bag is now caught up in a broader clash over influencers, old money and island authenticity.
At Chishuru, Adejoké Bakare Is Cooking West African Cuisine on Her Own Terms
The chef behind Chishuru is expanding London’s idea of fine dining with a menu rooted in Nigeria, Ghana and the broader West African culinary canon.
The 2026 Genesis G70 Prestige Graphite Maxes Out on Features While Amping Up Performance
When Korea’s Hyundai split its Genesis models off from the fancier end of its line and gathered them into its own higher-end make, its Pacific rivals suddenly had a stylish, function-packed competitor.
The Essentials With Joey Wölffer: Horses, Sag Harbor Haunts and Carrying on the Family Business
The co-owner of Wölffer Estate Vineyard on her lifelong love of horses, favorite Hamptons spots and running the family business alongside her brother and husband.
Interviews
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“It’s About Time”: At 86, Gladys Nilsson Gets Her First Major Retrospective
“A retrospective is by definition looking backward, but Gladys is always forward-facing,” Francesca Wilmott, the curator of “Gleefully Askew” at Crocker Art Museum, told Observer.
Inside the Calvert Brothers’ Art Club for Everyone
Clayton and Parker Calvert launched the NYC Culture Club during the pandemic to give artists greater visibility, collectors new inroads and the public an accessible way to engage with contemporary art.
Fine Art Insurance Is Often Worth More for What It Prevents Than What It Pays Out
Private Client Select’s Matt Sweitzer explains how advanced planning, staff training, better data and site-specific risk assessments can help protect irreplaceable artworks.
Joshua Foulquier Built a Restaurant Around the Art His Mother Loved
On the walls of Chez Fifi in New York’s Upper East Side are works by Pablo Picasso, Alexander Calder, Joan Miró and other artists that she collected over decades.
Judy Glickman Lauder’s Vast Trove of Photography Is a Portrait of Its Collector
Spanning quotidian moments to historic pinnacles, the touring exhibition “Presence: The Photography Collection of Judy Glickman Lauder” examines different facets of the human experience.
Power Lists
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Observer’s 2026 A.I. Power Index: Who Controls the Capital Flow in A.I
Power in artificial intelligence no longer moves through the channels everyone learned to watch.
Observer New Media Power List: Call for Submissions
Nominations are open for Observer’s 2026 New Media Power List
The 50 Most Powerful PR Firms of 2026
This year’s honorees are emblematic of a notable shift in public relations from responsive publicity to proactive leadership in the moments that matter most.
Wall-to-Wall Cultural Capital: Inside Observer’s Art Power Index Party
Under the dim lights of the Lower East Side’s Maison Nur, art world luminaries gathered to celebrate Observer’s Art Power Index—and each other. From the impassioned speeches to the sharp tailoring and Damien Hirst over the bar, the evening embodied our legacy of chronicling power with style.
2025 Nightlife & Dining Power Index
Humanity is still the most vital ingredient in hospitality, and that isn’t changing anytime soon.
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The Bad Planning That Leaves Many Artist Estates Tangled in Lawsuits
Estate planning isn’t just for art collectors.
America’s Family-Owned Restaurant Legends, From Hamburgers to Cheesesteaks
Spanning a a New Orleans dining room to a Texas smokehouse, these iconic American institutions have stayed in the same families for generations
The Future of an Art Collection Is Decided Long Before It Changes Hands
Leading art advisor Megan Fox Kelly explores why the art world’s quietest months are often the most important for collectors. She contends that careful documentation, provenance research, appraisals and thoughtful legacy planning are what preserve an art collection’s value and ensure it can be successfully passed to the next generation.
Ferrari’s First EV Heads to Monterey Car Week Auction With a $1.1M Estimate
After a bruising debut and unexpectedly strong sales, Ferrari’s first EV is heading to auction with a seven-figure estimate and charity angle.
In the Midst of the Great Wealth Transfer, a New Generation Is Redefining the Art of Collecting
Millennial and Gen Z art buyers are rejecting hype, speculation and inherited art-world conventions in favor of personal resonance, direct relationships with artists and a commitment to advocacy and cultural impact.
Every Iconic Car Owned by Elon Musk: From a Vintage Model T to a McLaren F1
Before Tesla made him synonymous with EVs, Elon Musk built an eclectic collection of gasoline-powered classics, supercars and movie memorabilia. Here’s a look at Musk’s cars over the decades, including a Jaguar E-Type, Porsche 911 Turbo, McLaren F1 and “Wet Nellie.”
The Inheritance Princess Margaret Never Got to Keep
Princess Margaret was never meant to inherit the throne—only its obligations. When she fell in love with a divorced RAF pilot in 1952, the Crown made clear what staying royal would cost her.
The Largest Cash Gifts to U.S. Art Institutions So Far in 2026
From Mitchell Rales’ $116 million gift to D.C.’s National Gallery to major commitments from Silicon Valley, foundations and dedicated cultural patrons, these donations are shaping access to art and institutional futures.
At California’s Most Historic Restaurants, It’s Still a Family Affair
These enduring California institutions have survived changing tastes, recessions and restaurant fads without giving up the family name.
The American High-Society Calendar Still Runs on Horses, Yachts and Collector Cars
America’s old guard returns to the same annual fixtures, usually with a standing reservation and work to do.
Centro Botín Champions Marisol’s Drawings and Rethinks Her Legacy
The idea of the female body as, per Vallés Vílchez, “a site of expectations” runs through her work without question, and her aesthetics of fragmented female bodies seem to address the deep malaise of living in a sexist society.
How Kate Lee and Clovis Lima Jr. Are Connecting the Creative Cultures of Asia and Latin America
With the launch of 603 Arts Foundation, the collectors are expanding their support of artists beyond the mere acquisition of works.