Janet Wolfson de Botton


Dame Janet Frances de Botton is a British art collector and philanthropist.

Family

Janet de Botton is the eldest daughter of Leonard Wolfson, Baron Wolfson and his wife Ruth, who married in 1949, and a granddaughter of Sir Isaac Wolfson, 1st Baronet, founder of the Great Universal Stores family; she was previously married to the broadcasting executive Michael Green. Her late husband, Swiss financier Gilbert de Botton, sold Global Asset Management for £234 million in 1999.

Career

In 1996, she presented 60 works of art to the Tate, including examples by Carl Andre, Richard Artschwager, Gilbert & George, Richard Long, Cindy Sherman, Roni Horn, Gary Hume, Nancy Spero, Andy Warhol and Bill Woodrow. In 2010, she donated a ceiling painting by Twombly to the Louvre's Salle de Bronzes. In June 2010, the Wolfson Foundation announced the appointment of de Botton as the new Chairman following a unanimous decision by the trustees. De Botton has been a trustee of Tate and Chairman of the Council of Tate Modern.

Distinctions

In 2007, she appeared at number 22 in the Sunday Times Rich List, with an estimated personal fortune of £285 million. She is a prominent collector of modern art. According to the Sunday Times Giving List in 2020, de Botton gave £65.1 million to charitable causes in 2019.